Only around 10-25 percent of people infected with HSV-2 are aware they have genital herpes. This is because genital herpes will often produce mild symptoms or no symptoms at all (asymptomatic infection). As a result, many cases of genital herpes go undiagnosed and frequently people unknowingly pass the virus on to their sexual partners.

If symptoms do occur, they will usually appear 2 to 7 days after exposure and last 2 to 4 weeks. Both men and women may have one or more symptoms, including:

Itching or tingling sensations in the genital or anal area
Small fluid-filled blisters that burst leaving small painful sores
Pain when passing urine over the open sores (especially in women)
Headaches
Backache
Flu-like symptoms, including swollen glands or fever.