Can One Virus Cause Genital Herpes and Oral Herpes at the Same Time?

Question: Can One Virus Cause Genital Herpes and Oral Herpes at the Same Time?

Answer: Although common wisdom and some "experts" may say otherwise, it is indeed possible for you to have oral herpes and genital herpes infections caused by the same type of herpes virus at the same time.

In short, cold sores aren't protective against a genital herpes infection - whether both infections are caused by HSV-1, both infections are cause by HSV-2, or one infection is caused by each.

_Sources:

_{Embril, JA et al (1981) Concurrent oral and genital infection with an identical strain of herpes simplex virus type 1. Restriction endonuclease analysis. Sex Transm Dis.8(2):70-2.}

_{Lafferty et al (1987) Recurrences after oral and genital herpes simplex virus infection. Influence of site of infection and viral type. N Engl J Med. 316(23):1444-9.}