Prevalence of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 among children and adolescents attending a sexual abuse clinic.
BACKGROUND
Children and adolescents with a history of sexual abuse are at risk for acquiring herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2. We evaluated the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 and the usefulness for this population of 2 commercially available tests.


METHODS
Sera from 150 children seen in a sexual abuse clinic were analyzed for type-specific HSV antibodies using Focus HerpeSelect HSV-2 ELISA (Focus), Biokit HSV-2 Rapid Test (Biokit), and by Western blot (WB).


RESULTS
The patient sample was 81% female, had a mean age of 11.6 years (range, 1 to 18 years), and was 46% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic, 25% African American, and 2% other. According to WB, 77 (51%) of the children were HSV-1 seropositive. For HSV-2, there was 1 "true positive" (positive by all 3 tests) and 1 patient whose serum had atypical HSV-2 bands by WB but was positive by Focus. There were 6 sera that were positive by Focus and negative by WB. Index values of these 6 Focus tests were not predictive of WB status. For the 105 samples for which Biokit data were available, all samples were concordant with WB.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study suggest that routine screening for HSV-2 in sexually abused children does not have a high yield. The Focus test has an unacceptably high rate of false-positive results in children; however, Biokit may be an acceptable substitute for WB in evaluating children for HSV-2 antibodies.
Ramos
Stephanie
S
Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77555-0319, USA.
Lukefahr
James L
JL
Morrow
Rhoda Ashley
RA
Stanberry
Lawrence R
LR
Rosenthal
Susan L
SL
D000293:Adolescent; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic