Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Antibodies in Childhood and Adolescence: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

The changing spectrum of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections makes it important to define the seroepidemiology of HSV. The object of this study was to determine the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 immunoglobulin G antibodies in a young Swedish population by investigating 2106 serum samples from people aged 0-19 y. Sera were tested in HSV type-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using glycoprotein G-1 (gG-1) and glycoprotein G-2 (gG-2) as antigens. The overall seroprevalence was 31% (95% CI 29-33) for HSV-1 and 0.5% (95% CI 0.2-0.9) for HSV-2. The HSV-1 seroprevalence was higher with increasing age, and significantly higher in the age cohort 15-19 y compared with 1-4-y-olds (37% vs 24%). The HSV-1 infection seemed to be acquired early in life. In the age cohort 1-2 y, the prevalence was over 20%, presumably reflecting an established viral infection. In adolescence the HSV-1 seroprevalence may reflect both oral and sexual transmission. The seroprevalence in the oldest age cohort did not differ significantly from that seen in a Swedish study in which sera were sampled from young girls in the 1970s.

Prevalence of Antibodies against Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2 in Children and Young People in an Urban Region in Tanzania

“…Among all seven sera that were The present results show that HSV-1 infections occur early in life in Tanzania, as 74% of the individuals aged 2 to 4 years old had specific antibodies, and Ͼ80% of children in the age group of 5 to 8 years had specific antibodies. These figures are nearly two times higher than those obtained from similar studies in Sweden (39) and Germany (43) but are rather close to the results from a study in Eritrea (10). The prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies was unexpectedly high, as 15% of the children were infected at an age of 8 years, with an increase to 40% for the group of 17-to 20-year-olds.…”

“…For children at an age of 4 to 5 years, the prevalence has been reported to be 20% in England (15), 25% in Sweden (39), 30% in Germany (43), around 35% in Estonia (40), 50% in Hong Kong (15), and 59% in Eritrea (10). In the following years, there was an increase in all studies to between 37% (Sweden) and 75% (Estonia) in European countries and 97% in Eritrea.…”

Seroepidemiological Study Of Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 In Black Sea Region Of Turkey

“…In England and Wales, HSV-1 prevalence was 46%-49% among newborns, probably reflecting, at least in part, maternal antibody status, and 17%-27% among children aged 1-14 (22). In a cross-sectional study of 0-19 year old Swedish children in 2003, HSV-1 seroprevalence was 31% (23). In a European study using samples collected in 1989-2000, the seroprevalence for HSV-1 for the 5-9 age group in Belgium, England and the Netherlands was 25%-35%; seroprevalence for the 0-19 age group in Bulgaria was 14%-15%, compared to 23%-27% in the Czech Republic, 23%-27% in Finland and 12% in Slovenia (14).…”

A 3′-untranslated region polymorphism in the TBX21 gene encoding T-bet is a risk factor for genital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in humans

“…Plasma from HSV-2-infected and uninfected individuals was screened for HSV-1 antibodies using an HSV-1 ELISA kit according to the manufacturer's instructions (HerpesSelect1 ELISA IgG; Focus Technologies). Plasma from HSV-2-uninfected individuals was screened for HSV-2 glycoprotein G (gG) antibodies using an HSV-2 ELISA kit according to the manufacturer's instructions (HerpesSelect2 ELISA IgG; Focus Technologies) and plasma from HSV-2-infected individuals was screened for membrane-anchored mature gG-2 (mgG-2)-specific antibodies using an ELISA as described previously (Tunback et al, 2003).…”