Hotline Aids Herpes Victims

Students concerned about herpes may now dial a new toll-free number to receive information about the dis-case.

The American Social Health Association (ASHA) has established an 800 number for its Herpes Resource Center to allow easier access to information on genital herpes.

Sharon Broom, a spokesperson for ASHA, said last week that hotline callers can request they be mailed a free packet of information on herpes.

But a call to the hotline yesterday revealed that as soon as the hotline operator offers to mail the packet, the caller is barraged with a series of sales offers for books and journals. The ASHA is a non-profit organization.

Callers who wish to speak to a counselor are advised to call a toll number.

The packet contains a brochure titled "Herpes: Questions and Answers," a list of local support groups and listings of other informational materials that can be purchased, she said.

Material on herpes is already available on campus, officials at University Health Services (UHS) said yesterday.

"There is a great deal of information available here [at Harvard] in print and on-line," Adrienne R. Landau, staff assistant in the Office of Health Education, said. "We have information on VINE and available in print in our office."

UHS offers information on herpes to students on request, officials said. Genital herpes is a disease, which is more likely to affect young adults, as they become increasingly sexually active.

"Genital herpes is a chronic sexually transmitted disease affecting about one in four adults," Charles W. Ebel, director of the Herpes Resource Center, said. "Because there is not a cure, once you have it, you always have it."

Among college students, however, herpes is much less prevalent, Ebel said.

"According to studies from about five years ago, only about one-half of one percent of adolescents about to enter college have herpes," Ebel said. "By the end of college, the number has risen to about four to five percent."

UHS Director David S. Rosenthal could not be reached for comment on how many Harvard students have herpes.

"Herpes can range from a minor medical condition to a self-defining trait with physical and emotional implications," Ebel said. "Basically, transmission requires skin-to-skin contact, usually at the site of a lesion, with some abrasion."

"Condoms are generally accepted as the best preventative for genital herpes transmission," Ebel said. "Most people don't know that cold sores on lips may be caused by herpes, and oral sex can lead to infection."

Ebel said students who have such signs of the disease should consult their physician.

"If you have symptoms that are recurrent in the same vicinity, it is a telltale sign of infection," Ebel said.

The Herpes Resource Center phone number is 800-230-6039 and is in operation Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Callers who wish to speak to a counselor are advised to call 919-361-8488, a toll call.