High seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection in French human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected outpatients.
Using commercially available herpes simplex virus (HSV) type-specific serological diagnostic tests, HSV type 2 (HSV-2) antibody prevalence was assessed in two parallel prospective studies including 534 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected outpatients living in two areas of northern France. In the first cohort of 434 subjects, 223 (51%) individuals demonstrated a positive HSV-2 serological status while 66 (66%) of 100 subjects in the second cohort were seropositive for HSV-2 (51 versus 66%; P = 0.08). Among the 223 HSV-2-seropositive subjects identified in the first study cohort, only 22 (10%) had suffered from recurrent anogenital lesions during the past 12 months while 154 (69%) had no clinical history of herpesvirus infection. Our findings demonstrate high proportions of subclinical and undiagnosed HSV-2 infection in HIV-1-infected individuals and suggest that HSV type-specific serological testing in the French HIV-1-infected subpopulation could be an efficient strategy to diagnose clinically asymptomatic HSV-2 infections.
Andréoletti
Laurent
L
Unité de Virologie Médicale, Unité d'Hygiène Hospitalière et Service des Maladies Infectieuses, Hôpital Robert Debré, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Reims, and IFR-53/EA-3798, Faculté de Médecine de Reims, Reims, France. landreoletti@chu-reims.fr.
Piednoir
Emmanuel
E
Legoff
Jérôme
J
Brodard
Véronique
V
Beguinot
Isabelle
I
Strady
Christophe
C
Rouger
Christine
C
Piketty
Christophe
C
Si-Mohamed
Ali
A
Kazatchkine
Michel Daniel
MD
Malkin
Jean-Elie
JE
Bélec
Laurent
L
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D015497:HIV-1; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior
D000914:Antibodies, Viral