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Promiscuity's
Latest Pena--.ty
by
Oonald O. Schroeder
Ten years ago, it was thougbt to be a
rare disease, buttoday there
is
new oon·
cem among public health officials about
the venereal disease. lmown
as
HeÍpes
Simplex Virus 'l)pe 2. "HSV-2" is now
widespread throughout the popu.lation,
infecting all ages. s<x:iol classes and both
scxes.
Official alarm is well warranted. Not
ooJy is thc blister·hke distase frequently
pamful, debilitating and acutely dis–
ruptive to personal life, but the newly
discovered epidemic has a condilion
mankind fears most in
a
disease: it is
Incurable -
atleast
so
far.
Unli.ke syphilis and gonorrhea, which
are caused by bacteria, HSV-2, like
neatly all viral
disease$,
is
immune to all
presently known antibiotics and medica·
tion that
can
be safely given. Therefore,
once the victim contracts the virus, he
has it for life. He may frequently bave
ltis
living patterns upsct by active out·
breaks ofthe disease. Medieal treatment
only reduces symptoms or duratioo of
outbreaks; it does not destroy the virus.
More disturbmg to health officials, '
however,
is
the fact that, a significan!
correlatioo rate betweeo the presence of
HSV-2 in the genitals and
cancer
in
lb
e
pubic region has
beco
observed by
a
bauery
"<>(
disease specialists. There
is
growing suspicion, not yet absolutely
confinned, that HSV·2 frequently leads
lo cancer of the cervix o r prostate in
adults
TwoTypes
of
Herpes
Vlrus
are eveo a strong compctitor to gonor·
rhca.
"Ten yellrs ago
11
was an uncommon
cvent to sec a patient with genital her–
pes," said a dermatologist in the San
Francisco arca. "Todoy, there are days
whcn
1
see up to ten paticnts a day witb
it."
A conservativc estímate of
300.000
genotal herpes infections are bei11g
trcated annually
in
the U.S. Gcniull her–
pes
is
now recognized as tbe
second
most
prevalen! vencrcal discase in tbe nation.
(Gonorrbea is stíll ftrst and is. aOer
colds, also the oation's number one com·
municable disease, with around
2.7
mil·
!ion new infections annually.)
During active stages of infection there
are oftco no noticeable symptoms
among thc
sex
panners who pass it on.
Tbe result is
a
constantly expandiog res·
ervoir of infeetioo.
Tbe lnnoeent
Suffer
The innocent victims of tbe genital
herpes epidemic are babtcs of unknow–
ingly infected prcgnant mothers. Sucb
motbcrs bave a miscarriage rate ofmore
than three times that of thc general pop–
ulation. Sorne officials estímate half of
the babies boro from mothers with an
a~'live
genital infeetion will contract the
disease, and one (\UIU'Icr ofthcm
will
die
or be seriously damaged. Botb 'l)pc 1
and Typc 2 can
cause
dangcrous con·
sequcnces to such an onfant. but Typc 2
appears to prcdommate in seriousness. '
A child bom through a gonoooccus–
infcctcd birth canal
i$
endaogercd with
the possibility of blindness; ,but delivery
tltrougb a herpes infectcd birth canal
ex~e.s
the infant lO·
a
high chance of
paonful deatb or irreversible brain dam·
age. Dr. Marvio S. Amstey of tbe Uni–
versity of Rochestcr School
9f
Medicine
says
if
organs other than the infant's
skin
are
atfected, the fatality rate spirals
to
75'1.
ormore.
Disease
of the
New
Morality
Tbe cause of the genital herpes epi–
demic is the same c.1use behiod the spi·
raling climb of othcr venereal diseases.
Mcdical officials directly indict sexuaJ
promiscuity
as
thc cause of the Ycnereal
herpes epidemic. Marcus
A.
Conant,
M.O.,
of thc UOJVt!Sil)' of California
Medical Centcr, blames the newly fouod
cpidemic oo "changing sexual mores
and practiee.• rather than tbc dcvel–
opmcnt of a more aggressive virus."
"lt's the vencrCD.I diseasc of the new
morality," says another spccialist deal·
ing with thc genital herpes epidemic.
Maoy healtb otlicials attribute tbe up–
surge of Typc 1 inf.,ct.ions in genital
arcas to the increasi.ng practice of oral–
genital sex. Movies such
as
J:ieep Throat
and a host of othcr pornographic 61ms
havc popul.arizcd thcse and other non–
convcntional sex practices.
In onc study of 101 patients with
a
herpes infection in the genitals, it
was
discovered 92 practiced oral-geniull
sex.
Tests
on
these paticnts indieated balf of
them had the 'l)pc 1 virus (oraJ herpes).
Thesc practices also are the major rca–
son Type
2
infections are cropping up .
more li'equently
in
lip and mouth
in·
fections, health otlicials repon. Sinoe thc
herpes virus is very infectious, any in–
timate contact woth a potentially in–
feeted person
is
obvoously a
grcat
risk.
World
VD
Crisis
Venereal
~iseases
'- particularly gon–
orrhea - are raging out of- control in
Whether HSV-2 is expericncing
8
phenomenal increase or is only at last
being recognized by better-infonned
doetors in .a frequeney that
has
always
more or less eJUSted is a debated point
among health officials.
A decade ago it was thought ulcer·
ative sores in thc geniull
area
were
caused by the same virus producing sim–
ilar sores above thc waist, or by sorne
Other non-specified virus. OnJy in.
1966
was it discovered that two separate her–
pes sirnplex viruses wcre involvcd in
human infections.
Herpes Simplex
Path~logy
Typc
1
(Herpes Stmplex Virus 'l)pc
1) typically causes common cold sores
and fevcr blisters above the waist, par·
ticularly on lhe mouth or face.
1t
is usu–
aUy passed on to others through similar
a.rea contact during active infections.
The Typc 2 variety frequeotly causes
painful blister-like or ulcerative sorcs in
the genital arca and
is
almost always
acquired througb sexual contact.
Recently, bowever,
1)pe
1 and 'l)pe
2 are being more frcquently found in
rcverse arcas, due, in the vast majority
of cases, to the increase in oral-genital
sex practices. Either herpes virus can
thus cause a
genital
herpes
infectioo.
In
faet, ten percent of gcmtal herpes
cases
are'l)pe
l .
Competltor to
~?
AJready, geniull herpes infections far
surpa~
new sypbiUs infcctions
~
many
treatment centers across the nauoo aod
10
HSV· I (facial herpes) and HSV-2
(genital
herp~)
have overlapping symp–
toms in many pitases. Only mcdicaltests
can teU wbich strai(l is which. Wbile
.eaeh strain prcdominantly infects its re–
spectÍve arca. they both
can
infect any
pan of tbe body tf unusual intimacies
are involved. Above the waist, Typc
1
infeetinns typically disappear in
10
days
and are not gencraUy dangerous. Type 1
symptoms recur f.requently in sorne indi–
viduals, but not at
all
in others.
Herpes infections of botb types lirst
develop symptoms two to IWcnty days
aOer cootaet with an infected pcrson.
The fi.rst symptoms of
genital
herpes
(90'1.
are Typc
2)
may be minor rashes
or itching in the genital arca. Thesc
symptoms thcn commonly develop into
a cluster. of painful btister-like, ftuid–
ftlled lesions or ulccrations, oflen accom·
panied by flu-like symptoms: fever, ach–
ong muscles and general maJaise.
Even without trcatmcnt, the lirst her–
pes sores
dry
up within about a rnonth,
but the diseasc
has
not disappearcd.
In
followiog months, up lo severa! years,
there may be frcquent sporadic recur·
rences lasting a week or two.
The herpes virus, particuJarly 'l)pc 2,
is
a
significant cause of female genital
infections
wbicb
can cause
btister-~ke
sorcs, fatigues. swelling in the legs, and.
in advanced
cases.
severe ulceratioo of
the reproductivo orgaou.
The
herpes
virus
is
peculiar in that
bormooe changes (duc to monthly cy·
eles, drugs, birth control pills, etc.) or
stress of any type (emotiooal upset, a
long walk, sun light, or cven sexual inter·
course) can precipitate a relapse.
Between relapses, it is very difficuJt to
test for the
virus,
as it see.ms to bury
itsclf deeply in tissues. However,
im·
provcd blood and pap tests are discov–
cring more infcctions.
Wbile no single drug thcrapy is efl'eo–
tive in destroying the herpes virus, vari–
ous medical therapies (sorne of them
controversia! as regards
10
safety) may
shorten duration or symptoms of out·
breaks.
Becauu
of thc nature ofmost promtS–
cuous sex practices, there are no
foolproof precautions
promiscuous
indi–
viduals can talce to avoid the danger of
thc disease- or any venercal discasc for •
that mauer.
most countries. The World Health Orga–
bizatioo estimates, "Tbc annual in–
cidence of gonorrhéa in many countriC$
ofl'ects one lo fivc pen:ent of people in
the age group
15
to 30 and may go
as
higb
as
six to ten perccnt."
Medical researchers admit mucb has
yct to be leamed about the patbology of
vcnereal
diseascs.
The genital herpes
cr~is
is testimony to tltis fact. Receot
rcscarch bas d1scovcred that maoy more
mcn than prcviously believed are
asymptomatic (i.c., wothout any carly
symptoms) carriers of gonorrhea. And
womco on tbc Pill have provén to be
oluch more susceptible to VD infcctions
dueto ehanges in genitaJ cbemisty.
Promiscuity, bomosexuality and
a
seemingly endless parade of new and
bi.z.arre sex activities are more and more
widely glamorizcd by various media
as
tbe "ultimate thriiL" Oullible millioou
are lost' in our modem "sexual wilder–
ness," but thc "propbcts of pcrmissivc·
ness~
- from wbatcver the source -
obviously just aren' t rcaUy telling thc
whole
story
of promiscuity's ugly side
cfTects.
Thc "sileot epidcmic" of
VD
is not
silent in its ell'ccts - ruincd health, dcad
or irrcparably damagcd babies, acute
physical pain, severc mental anguisb
and destroyed
sex
lives - but, ignorance
and careless attotudes concerning VD
stillabouod.
Mankind today is reaping mounting
tragedy bccause it has become chic and
popular. to ·scorn,. ridicul.e . and. • rcjecl
God's laws on
sex,
marriage and
per·
sonal bygiene. In thc cnd, God's laws
cannot be mocl<cd or ignored. True bib–
lical morality would still malee
VD
dos·
asters virtually noncxistent
and,
at the
same time, preserve and protect thc
safety, beauty and dignity of scx within
marriagc.
Real P reventatlves l gnored
Medica] scicnce and health authon·
ties are stiU struggling to find ncw and
better weapons agatnst the old killer,
syphilis,
as
weU
as
the ever-d:tanging
cnppler, gooorrbca. Now tbcy are en· '
gaged in a frantic new searcb to find
cver-more exotic drogs and/or vaccines
to halt tbe vencreal herpes crisis.
How much bcttcr it would be to
choosc a life-stylc lhat avoids VD
in·
fcction - evcn
if
that mcans ruoniog
against the tide or permissiveoess!
11
would
mean
simply avoiding
a1J
promis·
cuous and pcrvertcd sex activities.
Thc plain and simple truth
is
that ve..
nereal disease is vi.rtually tMPOSSlBL2 to
contact withio tbc confines of
a
faithful
marriage of twn
s~xually
pure partners.
An infectcd "third party' ' is necessary
for the introduction
of
vcnereal distase.
Mariull (and prcmarital) fidclil)' in both
panners is the only prcvention for vcnc–
rcal distase.
As never before, VD must not be rcle–
gnted to a hush-hush status. Every re–
sponsible persoo, young aod old. needs
to inform himsclf or herself about thc
growing
VD
cri$is Por further hclpful
background oo
vq
histo')', mytbs, and
symptoms,
as wcU
as otber vital infor–
mation, write for our free publication,
' '1'be Silent Epidcmic."
11
explains thc full scopc and cause of
this growing worldwide
seo
urge. O
WEEK ENDINO MAY 24.
197S