title: Herpes simplex virus type 2 antibodies: high prevalence in monogamous women in Costa Rica.
abstract: We studied the prevalence of antibody to Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) in 766 randomly selected Costa Rican women 25-59 years of age in a national household survey in 1984-1985. Overall, 97.1% were seropositive for HSV-1 and 39.4% for HSV-2. Only 1.1% of HSV-2 seropositive women gave a history of symptomatic genital herpes. HSV-2 virus antibody increased with age and with the number of lifetime sexual partners. HSV-2 seroprevalence among women who reported only 1 lifetime sexual partner was almost twice as high as the prevalence among women who denied sexual experience (30.5% vs. 17.7%) and reached 79.2% among women with greater than or equal to 4 partners. HSV-2 seroprevalence was lower among women whose partners used condoms: 28.9% for those who had used condoms for at least 2 years vs. 44.3% for those who never used condoms.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Oberle
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosero-Bixby
authors.forename: F K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Braverman
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Nahmias
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Guinan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000276:immunology; D003275:Contraceptive Devices, Male; D003364:Costa Rica; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology*; D013588:Syphilis Serodiagnosis; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000914:Antibodies, Viral