title: Seroepidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 in northern iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2 are common infectious agents worldwide. Data on prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infection are limited in Asia, especially in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of HSV type 1 and 2 based on age, gender, marital status, education, living area, job, symptoms and history of disease variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population included 800 randomly selected persons from laboratories in Gilan Province, Iran, from 2010 to 2011. Demographic data gathered by a well-designed questionnaire and for serological studies, blood samples were collected and centrifuged. ELISA HSV-1, 2 and HSV-2 specific ELISA kits were used to determine IgG type specific antibodies in sera samples. Person's chi-square test was applied to compare HSV-1 and HSV-2 seropositivities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG antibodies were positive in 467 (58.4%) and 28 (3.5%) subjects, respectively. There was significant correlation between age, marital status, job, symptoms, history of disease and HSV seroprevalence (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings were in agreement with prior studies in which HSV-1 infections was more prevalent than HSV-2 and seropositivity increased with age.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Microbiology, Lahijan Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rezaei-Chaparpordi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Assmar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amirmozafari
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Modiri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Massiha
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shokri-Fashtali
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gholizadeh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akbari
keywords: ELISA; HSV-1; HSV-2; Iran; Prevalence