How long can herpes live on a towel

The herpes simplex virus responsible for an epidemic of venereal disease in this country can survive for long periods of time on toilet seats, towels, clothing and medical equipment, according to a study by University of California researchers.

Dr. Trudy Larson, a research fellow and pediatrician at the Los Angeles campus, said her research appears to provide the first such evidence using herpes virus samples from patients.

The finding challenges the generally accepted wisdom that the genital form of herpes is communicable only through direct sexual contact. It raises the prospect that the disease may be transmitted through non-sexual means, without direct contact with an infected person, she said in an interview.

Larson stressed, however, that such a prospect is "very unlikely," but said, "I think the possibility exists." She added that no proof exists that such transmission is taking place, but urged that herpes victims and others take added hygiene precautions.

Dr. Paul Wiesner, head of venereal disease control for the Centers for Disease Control, questioned the public health significance of the findings, saying, "We don't have evidence that it is transmitted in that fashion."

Wiesner said that new adult genital herpes patients almost always have a history of recent sexual contact. Babies may also get a life-threatening form of the disease during vaginal birth from a mother with active herpes lesions.

Dr. Steven Straus, a National Institutes of Health herpes expert, cautioned that "just because the virus can be recovered from toilet seats doesn't mean it's presented in large enough amounts to be spread to someone else."

Larson agreed, but said that UCLA doctors have encountered genital herpes in children and adults in which no history of direct sexual contact with affected persons was indicated.

Herpes simplex viral disease occurs in two forms, with the best known, type 1, responsible primarily for fever blisters or cold sores in the mouth region. But in recent years another form, type 2, has been transmitted increasingly to the genital region sexually, causing painful, recurring sores.

Although symptomatic relief is available, there is no cure, and more than 300,000 new cases are reported each year in the United States.

The UCLA study was reported this week at a joint meeting here of the American Pediatric Society and the Society for Pediatric Research.

For the study, samples of both forms of herpes were taken from patients' genital lesions and transmitted to various surfaces. For even more realism, one genital herpes patient sat briefly on a toilet seat.

Larson and her colleague, Dr. Yvonne Bryson, collected samples and tried to grow them under laboratory conditions to see if they were still viable.

They found that the virus survived on the toilet seat from 1 1/2 to 4 hours. On a medical instrument commonly used in genital examinations in doctors' offices the survival time increased to 18 hours. On cotton gauze the survival time was as long as 72 hours.

The virus even survived for an hour when transferred from a glove print to a plastic surface.

Because of the long survival period on gauze, Larson said she is most concerned about possible transmission of genital herpes virus on clothing and towels, particularly among roommates or families of individuals with herpes.

To be infectious, the virus would need to enter the body through open cuts on any part of the body or the mucous membranes of the mouth or genital area.

Larson advised herpes victims to pay attention to "good hygiene. They need to be more aware." She suggested using paper covers to provide added protection on toilet seats, and said laundry bleach kills the virus.

Research suggests HSV outside the body begins to degrade fairly quickly. The real issue is whether or not herpes virus on objects poses a risk for transmission: let us assure you there is no documentation that HSV has ever been contracted through inanimate objects. In the book ASHA publishes, Managing Herpes, the authors write:

Can you get herpes from a toilet seat, for example, or a dirty towel? The basic answer on the risk of getting herpes from inanimate objects like these is something along the lines of “generally impossible.” The main reason for this goes back to our earlier discussion about transmission, about skin to skin contact, and about the likely places where herpes can take hold. If you rubbed a herpes sore against a towel, for instance, some of the herpes simplex virus could be deposited onto the towel. The virus may persist outside the body for several hours, but soon it begins to lose its ability to invade and colonize new cells.

While the possibility of HSV transmission through objects cannot be discounted, experts do believe the risks are slight. A common sense approach will suffice: with the example mentioned above, it might be smart not to dry you face with a towel immediately after using it to dry an area that has herpes lesions. Again, let us stress the risk here is minimal at best, and don’t lose sleep over “what if…” scenarios. It’s also a good idea not to use or share sex toys during outbreaks, and to clean them thoroughly after each use.

–The HRC Staff

Excerpt taken from: C Ebel, A Wald. Managing Herpes, pp. 62-63. (c) American Social Health Association, 2009. Available at http://www.ashapublications.org/managing-herpes-living-amp-loving-with-hsv1.html.

Can you get herpes from towels?

In some rare instances, oral herpes can be transmitted via contaminated hard objects, such as a cup, toothbrush, or lipstick. Herpes can't live or thrive on porous surfaces, such as a towel. For this reason, you can't get oral or genital herpes from using someone else's towel.

How long does herpes virus live on fabric?

Herpesviruses isolated from patients with oral lesions were found to survive for as long as two hours on skin, three hours on cloth, and four hours on plastic.

Can herpes transfer through clothes?

A. There's no reason to worry; herpes doesn't live on objects, like clothes. The virus lives within cells, so it can be transferred only through skin-to-skin contact. So go ahead and swap tops--you're totally safe.

How long does herpes live on a toilet?

Frequently Asked Questions. How long does herpes live on a toilet seat? Herpes lives on surfaces for anywhere from a few hours to 7 days. But herpes is not spread via urine or fecal matter.