title: Decrease in seroprevalence for herpesviruses among pregnant women in Finland: cross-sectional study of three time points 1992, 2002 and 2012.
abstract: Maternal herpesvirus infections during pregnancy may cause fetal and neonatal infections. We investigated the seroprevalence of five herpesviruses: cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus (VZV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in randomly selected samples from pregnant Finnish women from the years 1992, 2002 and 2012. Over 20 years, the seroprevalences decreased significantly for CMV from 84.5% to 71.5% (p = 0.007) and HSV-1 from 69.5% to 45% (p < 0.001). The decrease in seroprevalence for HSV-2 (from 17.5% to 11%) was not statistically significant. The seroprevalence remained unchanged for VZV and EBV. The proportion of mothers with no antibodies to either HSV-1 or HSV-2 increased from 25.5% to 48% (p < 0.001). The seroprevalences for HSV-1 and HSV-2 increased in relation to age, which shows that women of childbearing age do contract primary HSV infections. Our findings indicate that a considerable proportion of women (48%) are at risk for primary HSV infection during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: a Children's Hospital , University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital , Helsinki ;
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Puhakka
authors.affiliation: a Children's Hospital , University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital , Helsinki ;|b National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) , Department of Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control , Helsinki ;
authors.forename: Emmi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarvikivi
authors.affiliation: c Laboratory Services (HUSLAB), Department of Virology and Immunology , University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital ;
authors.forename: Maija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.affiliation: d National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) , Oulu , Finland.
authors.forename: Heljä-Marja
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Surcel
authors.affiliation: a Children's Hospital , University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital , Helsinki ;
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saxen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: CMV; EBV; HSV-1; HSV-2; VZV