Yes, that was me quoted in the blog you cite. It was written a long time ago (maybe around 10 years?), but its main take-home messages remain accurate:  that genital herpes due to HSV1 behaves differently in important ways compared with HSV2. These include usually much lower frequency of recurrent outbreaks for HSV1, less frequent viral shedding (infectiousness), and therefore lower risk of sexual transmission to partners through genital contact. In fact, most herpes experts -- including Ms. Warren, who has cared for hundreds if not thousands of genital herpes patients -- believe they have almost never seen a case of genital HSV1 acquired by vaginal or anal sex; every case was from oral sex. The implication is that the infected person's sex partners are at little risk, especially if care is taken to avoid sex during one of those rare outbreaks. Another is that suppressive antiviral therapy (daily treatment with acyclovir or valacyclovir) is a lower priority than for HSV2, because with HSV1 both outbreak frequency and transmission risk to partners are low even without treatment. For these reasons, it is crucial for anyone with genital herpes, and her health care provider, to know which HSV type is the cause; it makes a big difference in clinical management, patient expectations, counseling, and treatment.

None of this is absolute:  there are exceptions to these generalizations. If you have specific concerns, e.g. about your own experience or situation, I'll be happy to address them; or perhaps to invite Terri to take over for follow-up questions. In the meantime, I hope these comments are helpful.

HHH, MD