If you are suffering from herpes infection, though may worry of getting cold sores and possibly genital herpes, you are assured to be protected against bubonic plague and other bacterial contagions.
Yes, with a surprising upside, the herpes family of viruses is found to protect against the diseases — at least in mice — though the researchers are yet to find out if a similar mechanism applies to humans and other mammalian hosts.
Skip Virgin, viral immunologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said,
There may be symbiotic advantages to chronic infections with these viruses.
It has been found that the viruses could protect mice from bubonic plague-causing bacterial infections like Yersinia pestis. It can also fight food poisoning-causing Listeria monocytogenes.
Hey! That does not mean you should go out and get infected with herpes! You can’t afford to ignore the herpes simplex viruses’ other notorious activities. These germs also lead to cold sores and possibly genital herpes. Not just that! It is also leads to diseases responsible for chickenpox as well as several less well-known ailments.
The findings are published in details in the May 17 issue of the journal Nature.