Although scientists previously thought that during latent periods, the herpes virus retreats to the spinal area and becomes inactive, they now believe that genital herpes never really rests. In the study, HSV-2 patients swabbed their genitals four times a day for two months, even when they were not having an outbreak. Scientists found that the genital skin was continually shedding small amounts of the active virus, although unfortunately, they have not yet confirmed absolutely that this small amount of shedding is enough to infect a sexual partner.

However, they did find that 60 percent of shedding phases lasted less than 12 hours, meaning that in the future, it may be helpful for herpes sufferers to know when they're shedding.

The researchers did not yet test these findings with HSV-1 (oral herpes), but believe they will find the same activity.