Oscars Weekend Brings About Herpes Spike

The Oscars are in full swing, but the award show isn't just bringing out gold statues and celebs in Hollywood ... herpes are also running amok.

According to a rep from HerpAlert -- an online diagnosis and treatment website for the STD -- there's been a spike in folks looking to get treated for herpes this weekend ... which just so happens to fall in line with the 90th annual Academy Awards.

HerpAlert's been in business since last summer, with doctors issuing prescriptions to pharmacies after people submit photos of their herpes and they're reviewed. The turnaround time is about 2 hours.

We're told that that the site has seen a huge surge in folks seeking prescriptions for herpes over the past 72 hours ... a whopping 60 cases a day since Friday in the Hollywood and Bev Hills neighborhoods compared to their usual 10-case a day load.

Sources say the the submissions so far have been 80 percent genital herpes. The last spike HerpAlert saw was during NBA All-Star weekend last month, when they got about 30 cases a day from people requesting prescriptions in the L.A. area.