Quote Originally Posted by Steve.r View Post
So can it be transmitted directly from an infected mother to the foetus ?
Where does it come from in the first place ?
Yes, Steve. But we're not talking about facial cold sores here. The biggest risk is the very uncommon situation of a first recognised attack of genital herpes when a woman is pregnant. It's so important to understand that infection can have been present without recognisable signs in the woman or her partner - so it does NOT imply, nor can it prove, recent infidelity
Of course most people with genital herpes have no symptoms and shed the viruses intermittently, so neonatal herpes COULD rarely result after an apparently normal vaginal delivery.
The viruses lie dormant in nerve cells until " triggered " by stress ( usually ), when they travel back to the initial site of exposure. Then they are spread by contact, in saliva or other body secretions. Since infection without symptoms is so common " cold sores " on the face will have most likely resulted from a long - forgotten kiss. Similarly, genital herpes from sexual contact in the past ( possibly a very long time ago, from someone with no symptoms ).
As for where viruses came from in the first place, they probably evolved from fragments of DNA or RNA, or complex molecules at the same time as cells evolved. They can't live for long outside " host " cells. I can't imagine any god creating viruses, but let's not open up that debate .