What are the possible long-term effects and risks of a herpes infection? the virus never leaves the body, so a person may experience outbreaks throughout his or her lifetime; the open sores increase the risk of contracting hiv or other illness transmitted through blood the virus never leaves the body; the outbreaks get increasingly worse each time and the person is at risk of the infection spreading to other areas of the body over time the infection can be cured if treated early; otherwise the infection may spread to the reproductive organs where it can cause permanent damage that causes infertility the infection can be cured if treated early; but because many people show few or no symptoms at first, they are unable to treat it in time and will experience increasingly severe outbreaks later in life