What causes herpes, and how can you address it? - Christine Johnston episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 30, 2026 · 8 MIN

What causes herpes, and how can you address it? - Christine Johnston

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Explore the viruses which can cause herpes, how the infection affects your body, and what makes it so hard to prevent and cure.--In the 1st century CE, Emperor Tiberius made an unprecedented decision: banning kissing at all public events. This move was aimed at thwarting a puzzling outbreak, which many historians believe was an epidemic of oral herpes. Today, more than half the population is infected with herpes simplex virus. So, what causes herpes? And how can we treat it? Christine Johnston examines this stealthy virus.Lesson by Christine Johnston, directed by Igor Ćorić, Artrake Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-causes-herpes-and-how-can-you-treat-it-christine-johnstonDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-causes-herpes-and-how-can-you-treat-it-christine-johnston/digdeeperAnimator's website: https://www.artrake.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, Boffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, paul g mohney, Steven Razey, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, Annastasshia Ames, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Karmi Nguyen, John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Sebastiaan Vleugels, Karl Laius, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Nicole Sund, Karlee Finch, Mario Mejia, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, and Yvette Mocete. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What causes herpes, and how can you address it? - Christine Johnston

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