In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that nearly 70% of the global population aged 15-49 has either HSV-1, HSV-2, or both. This is possible through a unique mechanism in which the virus establishes itself in the host organism (humans): once an infection is established, HSV then initiates lifelong latent infections in the human neuronal cells and lays dormant for the majority of its life cycle.