Two-Thirds Of Single Canadians (66%) Are Concerned About Contracting Genital Herpes

Toronto ON- Results from a new Ipsos-Reid survey released during International Herpes Awareness Week, show that while two-thirds (66 per cent) of single Canadians 30 years and older are concerned about getting genital herpes - and six in ten (61 per cent) are aware that it is extremely common - the majority do not take effective measures to protect themselves from contracting this incurable virus. Disturbingly, only 40 per cent of sexually active singles use a condom "all of the time," and 25 per cent never use a condom.

The Ipsos-Reid survey of 1,243 single and divorced/separated/widowed Canadians age 30 and over was designed to assess their sexual and dating habits, and to determine how concerned they are about sexually transmitted infections (STI), particularly genital herpes.

The vast majority of singles surveyed (71 per cent) believe it is easy to protect themselves against genital herpes. Among those who were sexually active in the past four years*, most say they use condoms (66 per cent) to protect themselves from getting genital herpes. Importantly, while condom use can decrease someone's risk of getting genital herpes, condoms alone are not enough. Condom effectiveness is reduced because lesions and viral shedding can occur anywhere in the boxer short area, even in the absence of signs or symptoms.

Others surveyed indicated they protect themselves against genital herpes by abstaining from sex (11 per cent), the same number of respondents (11 per cent) say they do not use any methods to protect themselves against genital herpes. Still, others (42 per cent) responded that they only have sex with people who do not have genital herpes; this is a concern, as many people with genital herpes have symptoms so mild that they do not really notice them at all, or do not have any symptoms and may not know they are infected.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for GlaxoSmithKline and fielded from September 21st to September 25th, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1243 single, separated/divorced, or widowed adult Canadians age 30 and over were interviewed via an Ipsos Internet-panel survey. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within +/-2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population.

Full tabular results are available in the attached factum and tables

For more information or to schedule a media interview, please contact:

Yola Zdanowicz
Vice President
Ipsos Reid Publc Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

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