title: National estimates of seroincidence and seroprevalence for herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 among US military adults aged 18 to 29 years.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While population-based seroprevalence studies of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are widespread, seroincidence studies are largely limited to select or high-risk populations. The US military offers a potential population to derive national seroincidence rate estimates for young adults (ages 18-29).
  
  
  METHODS
  We used banked, longitudinal serum specimens collected in a cohort of 1094 military personnel aged 18 to 30 years who served between 1989 and 2005 to estimate national HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroincidence and seroprevalence for the young, adult military population, weighted according to the US Census. Serum was tested with indirect ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Estimated national seroincidence rates for the US young, adult military population were 9.1 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval: 4.6-13.5) for HSV-1 and 6.2 (95% confidence interval: 3.1-9.3) for HSV-2. Female sex and black race were associated with significantly higher HSV-2 seroconversion rates. Our estimated HSV1/2 seroprevalences were comparable to US national data provided by National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys' serosurveys except for non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although these US 2000 Census-weighted estimates of HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroincidence apply only to young, military adults, they nonetheless supply, to our knowledge, the only national figures that might be used to predict US national HSV1/2 seroincidence in young adults. Thus, we believe that our findings in this military population can be used to inform the planning of HSV-1 and 2 prevention measures in the general, young-adult US population.
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive Medicine, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
authors.forename: William F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Mikayla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chubb
authors.forename: Xiaoshu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Lynn Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yuanzhang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Natalya S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Lynn I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Niebuhr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D044383:Black People; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000276:immunology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral