BY Amy Anderson 4 July, 2007

According to a 2006 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the prevalence of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), the cause of cold sores is declining. Researchers compared U.S. survey data taken from 1988 - 1994 and 1999 - 2004. The results showed that between 1988 and 2004 the prevalence of HSV-1, decreased by 6.9%.