Study: One in Four NYC Residents Has Herpes

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Joshua Goldberg
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Jun. 11 2008 06:28 PM ET

Over a fourth of all New Yorkers have genital herpes, according to a new study released Monday by the New York City Health Department.

The herpes virus, which affects about 19 percent of all adults nationally, has no cure and can make one up to three times more likely to contract HIV.

Pro-family groups reacted to the news with horror and dismay as they strengthened their case for the need for abstinence-based education programs in place of what they said were failed “comprehensive” sex-education policies.

“The same city that introduced a ‘get some’ condom campaign has gotten some, alright,” the Family Research Council (FRC) expressed in a statement.

“For years, NYC has been the grand central station of promiscuity. Now it's painfully obvious the city's solution of tossing out 36 million trendy condoms a year is only exacerbating the problem,” the group added.

Particularly troubling, according to the FRC, was the high proportion of infection among African-American and Hispanic city residents. Nearly half of all African-Americans and over a third of Hispanics had genital herpes, according to the study.

The FRC said that they hoped the new study would bring up a new awareness of the importance for citizens to mobilize and act against existing sex-education programs that encourage promiscuous behavior.

“Taxpayers should be outraged that their city is spending over a million dollars a year in a failed public health policy that does not protect against disease but foolishly encourages the behavior that leads to the spread of it,” the group explained.

Recently, the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA) launched its “Parents for Truth” campaign, through which it hopes to recruit one million parents over the next three years in a prolonged battle against comprehensive sex education programs.

According to a study by The Heritage Foundation, research overwhelmingly supports the case for abstinence-based education in place of “comprehensive” sex education in schools.

In the study, 15 out of 21 abstinence-education programs “showed positive behavioral results in the students, including the delay or reduction of sexual activity.”

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