Herpes is a common infection - so common, in fact, that everyone with a sex life is susceptible to it.
If you're not careful enough, you can acquire the virus and experience all those nasty symptoms that come with it.
And it's not only common to ordinary people.
Even high profile personalities and celebrities are prone to the infection.
After all, you can never find a group as sexually active as those who are always in the limelight and gossip pages for some scandal or another.
David Beckham, reportedly, has herpes himself.
Yes, the hunky football player has the virus in his great body as well.
So that translates to his wife, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham having it.
And since David Beckham has the herpes, he has probably infected all those other girls that came before the former Spice Girls member.
Given that he didn't exactly lead a celibate life, who knows who else got to share the virus with him.
But that's for the tabloids and gossip columns to ponder on.
The point is, if David Beckham, rich and good-looking as he is, also has herpes, then that only means that you can really get the virus if you're not careful enough.
Herpes doesn't know social or economic status.
It will attack anyone who is unaware of it.
So it's best to take the necessary precautions to make sure that you're free from the virus.
For starters, you get to minimize the risk of transmission by using condoms.
They serve to cover the affected area and prevent skin-to-skin contact so they can be effective but only up to some extent.
You should also avoid sexual intercourse during an active outbreak because this is when the virus can be easily transmitted.