Women and African-Americans have the highest rate of genital herpes infections. According to the study, one in five women is infected with the herpes virus. The infection rate was almost twice as high among women -- nearly 21 percent -- than among men, at 11.5 percent. For African-Americans, the prevalence of infection was 39.2 percent -- more than three times that of whites, at 12.3 percent. Black women are most affected by the disease, with an infection rate of 48 percent. According to four studies also released at the National STD Prevention Conference on Tuesday, African-Americans are shouldering a heavy STD burden. While African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, that population accounts for nearly half of all reported syphilis and chlamydia cases, more than 70 percent of all reported gonorrhea cases and about half of all new HIV infections. And, according to CDC experts, while African-American women and men are often unwilling to get tested, doctors are often reluctant to discuss sexual health with their patients -- particularly with black male patients.