title: The Epidemiology of Herpes Simplex Virus Type-2 Infection among Pregnant Women in Rural Mysore Taluk, India.
abstract: Objectives. To assess the prevalence and determinants of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections among pregnant women attending mobile antenatal health clinic in rural villages in Mysore Taluk, India. Methods. Between January and September 2009, 487 women from 52 villages participated in this study. Each participant consented to provide a blood sample for HSV-2 and HIV testing and underwent an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results. HSV-2 prevalence was 6.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4-9.0), and one woman tested positive for HIV. The median age of women was 20 years and 99% of women reported having a single lifetime sex partner. Women whose sex partner traveled away from home had 2.68 (CI: 1.13-6.34) times the odds of being HSV-2 seropositive compared to women whose sex partner did not travel. Having experienced genital lesions was also associated with HSV-2 infection (P value = 0.08). Conclusion. The 6.7% HSV-2 prevalence was similar to results obtained in studies among pregnant women in other parts of India. It appeared that most women in this study contracted HSV-2 from their spouses and few regularly used condoms. This finding highlights the need for public health policies to increase awareness and education about prevention methods among women and men living in rural India.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors: Aaron F
authors: AF
authors: Bochner
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA ; Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, Karnataka 560020, India.
authors: Purnima
authors: P
authors: Madhivanan
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, Karnataka 560020, India.
authors: Bhavana
authors: B
authors: Niranjankumar
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, Karnataka 560020, India.
authors: Kavitha
authors: K
authors: Ravi
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, Karnataka 560020, India.
authors: Anjali
authors: A
authors: Arun
authors: Public Health Research Institute of India, Mysore, Karnataka 560020, India ; Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
authors: Karl
authors: K
authors: Krupp
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8 Street, HLS 390W2, Miami, FL 33199, USA ; Division of Infectious Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
authors: Jeffrey D
authors: JD
authors: Klausner