Information on age- and sex-specific prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 2 and 1 infections is essential to optimize genital herpes control strategies, which increase in importance because accumulating data indicate that HSV-2 infection may increase acquisition and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus. This review summarizes data from peer-reviewed publications of type-specific HSV seroepidemiologic surveys. HSV-2 prevalence is, in general, highest in Africa and the Americas, lower in western and southern Europe than in northern Europe and North America, and lowest in Asia. HSV-2 and -1 prevalence, overall and by age, varies markedly by country, region within country, and population subgroup. Age-specific HSV-2 prevalence is usually higher in women than men and in populations with higher risk sexual behavior. HSV-2 prevalence has increased in the United States but national data from other countries are unavailable. HSV-1 infection is acquired during childhood and adolescence and is markedly more widespread than HSV-2 infection. Further studies are needed in many geographic areas.

HSV-2 infection is highly prevalent in these populations, even at young ages, and is strongly associated with HIV at an individual level. At a population level, HSV-2 prevalence was highest in Kisumu and Ndola, the cities with the highest HIV rates, although rates were also high among women in Yaoundé, where there are high rates of partner change but relatively little HIV infection. The high prevalence of both infections among young people underlines the need for education and counselling among adolescents.

The HIV prevalence rates in the general population confirmed our preliminary assessment of the level of HIV infection in the four cities, which was based on estimates of HIV prevalence from sentinel surveillance among pregnant women. The very high prevalence of HIV infection among young women in Kisumu and Ndola calls for urgent intervention.

To determine the sensitivity and specificity of Focus HerpeSelect ELISAs, sera or plasma samples from women aged 18-55 years were collected in ten cities from eight countries and tested by HerpeSelect HSV-1 ELISA (Focus-HSV-1) and by HerpeSelect HSV-2 ELISA (Focus-HSV-2). Sera with Focus-HSV-2-positive results were retested; 94% of the 3617 samples retested were positive. A subset of sera from each site was then selected, based on the HSV-2 results, and tested by Western blot (WB). The sensitivity and specificity were determined with samples from ten sites (n = 967) for Focus-HSV-1 and from seven sites (n = 675) for Focus-HSV-2. Focus-HSV-1 and WB results were concordant (both negative or both positive) for 97% of samples, with 99% sensitivity and 77% specificity. Specimens from Songkla, Thailand had 84% concordance with WB results for HSV-1, while three other sites had 100% concordance. Concordance of Focus-HSV-2 and WB was 92%, with 97% sensitivity and 89% specificity. Ibadan, Nigeria had 78% concordance. Focus-HSV-2 sensitivity and specificity in sites other than Ibadan were 97% and 93%, respectively. Raising the positive cut-off index value for HSV-2 from 1.1 to 3.5 yielded a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 96%. A sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 98% were achieved for sites other than Nigeria with the higher cut-off. In summary, the sensitivity and specificity of the Focus-HSV-1 and Focus-HSV-2 tests varied by site. Performance data generated in one area may not be applicable to other populations.