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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, August 2006, p. 2801-2807, Vol. 44, No. 8
0095-1137/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00180-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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

Center for International Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway,¹ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania,² Department of Dermatology, Haukeland University Hospital and University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway,³ MRC Virology Unit, Church Street, Glasgow, United Kingdom,⁴ Departments of Clinical Virology and Bacteriology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden,⁵ Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital and University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway,⁶ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Gade Institute, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway⁷

Received 27 January 2006/ Returned for modification 13 March 2006/ Accepted 14 May 2006

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is transmitted by close contact, both sexual and nonsexual, and infections are acquired during childhood and adolescence. Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), however, is thought to be transmitted mainly by sexual contact. Most HSV-2 infections are consequently expected to occur after the onset of sexual activity. Recent reports indicate an increasing prevalence of HSV-2 on the African continent, but most studies have been performed on adult cohorts. In the present study, we collected sera from Tanzanian children and young persons from 1 to 20 years old, with at least 100 individuals in each age group. Antibodies against HSV-1 and HSV-2 were detected by an in-house Western blot method which was shown to perform well in comparison with a commercial Western blot assay. Type-specific antibodies were also analyzed by two noncommercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods based upon the antigenicities of branched synthetic oligopeptides corresponding to epitopes in glycoprotein G of HSV-1 or HSV-2. The prevalence of HSV-1 antibodies increased gradually from 73% for the age group of 1 to 4 years to 92% for the age group of 17 to 20 years. The prevalence of HSV-2 antibodies was unexpectedly high, as 15% of the children were infected by the age of 8 years, with the incidence increasing gradually to 40% in the age group of 17 to 20 years. The reason for this unexpectedly high frequency is not clear but could suggest that nonsexual transmission of HSV-2 is more common than previously thought. There was no statistically significant association between seropositivities for HSV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus.

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