‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Novel Carries Herpes Virus

Reading the bestselling erotic novel, 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' might give you herpes. Research conducted by Catholic University of Leuven scientists found that the library copies of the sexy book carried traces of cocaine and herpes virus.

Jan Tytgat, a professor of toxicology, along with his colleague tested 10 most popular books borrowed by people from libraries. The results of the toxicology examination revealed that the two famous books, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' by EL James and 'Tango' by Pieter Asper carried the herpes virus.

"The levels found won't have a pharmacological effect," Tytgat told Flanders News. "Your consciousness or (behaviour) won't change as a result of reading the tomes," Professor Jan said. But people reading these books borrowed from the library might test positive for cocaine.

Similar study on the hygiene of library books was conducted by the students of Brigham Young University, Utah. They found that the popular books categorised on the basis of demand had 20 percent to 40 percent more microbes on them.

"Today's testing methods are so sensitive that traces of the drug originating from a contaminated book will be found in your hair, blood and urine," Professor Jan explained.

'Fifty Shades of Grey' is the most popular novel in the erotica genre in recent times. The story revolves around a young college student, Anastasia Steele and her raunchy affair with businessman, Christian Grey, who is much older than her. The book has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide.

Following the massive popularity of the book, Universal Productions decided to make its movie adaptation. The movie will see Irishman Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele. The film is slated to release on the 2015 Valentine's Day.