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CHARLOTTE -- A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says one in two black women is infected with herpes.

The study found the prevalence of the herpes simplex 2 virus was twice as high in women as in men. But overall, blacks were three times more likely to be infected; with African-American women topping the list.

Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James says the problem is promiscuity in the black community.

“They think promiscuity is OK, I guess, and they don't think marriage is all that big a deal and they don't think out-of-wedlock births are a problem, so everybody just keeps rockin’ on the way they're rockin’ on,” James said.

Willie Ratchford, director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, says black or white, this is an American problem.

“Fifty plus million Americans are infected and we need to be working together to do something for everybody and not point out or single out any one racial group,” he said.

James says he's tried to introduce abstinence programs at the county level with little success, and adds that it’s important for STDs to be discussed.

“If half of the black women between 14 and 49, child bearing age, if they have STDs, then there is something wrong,” he said.

James is also calling on African-American pastors to better educate blacks on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases.