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Importantly, while the bacterial STIs were curable, Herpes was definitely not.

Herpes wasn't considered a disease at the time. It was not pathologized until later.

This is more or less true. The pharmacy company Burroughs Wellcome is largely blamed for pathologizing "genital herpes" starting in the late 70s.

https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/ypa8nb/did-big-pharma...

Wait a second. With heroes you get painful, oozing sores on your genitals. It sometimes never goes away and can flare up at any time.

Does it really take a company to make people think of it as a disease?

"Oh my penis feels like it's on fire and oozing all over me. However, I wouldn't call it a disease."

AIUI it wasn’t considered a disease similar to how cold sores aren’t.

And HPV wasn't linked with cervical cancer yet - that doesn't mean it wasn't a disease. And I'm comfortable calling HSV-2 a disease based on the potential congenital consequences alone.

It's certainly a manageable one, and the stigma around it is silly, but if the common cold is a disease, then herpes is.

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