Question: What Is Asymptomatic Shedding?
Just because you don't have symptoms of a disease doesn't mean you can't pass it on. Many individuals are infected with viral sexually transmitted diseases like Herpes for years without knowing it. Even though they don't have any STD symptoms it doesn't mean they can't pass the virus on. That is one of the reasons why so many STDs are so contagious. If more people understood that someone who doesn't have any symptoms of genital herpes can still pass the virus on, they might be more proactive about practicing safe sex.
Answer: Asymptomatic shedding is when a person's body produces virus without them showing any signs of disease. In other words, it is when a person is contagious even though they have no signs or symptoms of infection.
Note: Individuals who are infected with bacterial sexual transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea and chlamydia can also pass those diseases on when they don't have any symptoms, but that phenomenon is not known as asymptomatic shedding. The phrase "asymptomatic shedding" is generally only used to refer to viral diseases such as herpes and HPV.
