Genital infections with herpes simplex virus in a university student population

The frequency of clinically evident genital infections with herpes simplex virus among students attending a large urban public university was studied. One-hundred ninety-eight students experienced 222 episodes of this disease over a one-year period. The mean age of the students, both undergraduate and graduate, with the diagnosis of genital herpes ranged from 23.6 years for those with a single initial episode to 24.9 years for those with recurrent episodes. The male-to-female ratio and socioeconomic class of students with genital herpes were not significantly different from those of the general university population. The incidences of both initial and recurrent episodes of genital herpes were statistically significantly higher during the months of July through October (with the exception of September). Genital herpes was a frequently diagnosed sexually transmitted disease among this student population.