Can someone explain to me how come everyone is so afraid of oral herpes (hsv1)?

Hsv1: Probably the overall fear is due to the name herpes, and its association with a sexually transmitted disease. Also once a person contracts either hsv1 or hsv2, there is no getting rid of it. It is known as 'the gift that keeps on giving'. After an outbreak, sometimes a very painfull experience, the sores go away, but the virus lives dormant in the spinal nerve ganglia, and can reapear any time.