TYPE 1 AND 2

Viruses of the Herpetoviridae family infect 90% of the earth’s population. Humans are the hosts of at least nine unique herpes viruses. This study is aimed at evaluating the seroprevalence of type specific Herpes simplex virus infection and the associated risk factors in a cross-section of asymptomatic healthy women of childbearing age in Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 330 subject of 15 - 49 years were recruited from various local government areas of the three Senatorial districts of Kogi State. Blood samples were collected from participants and analyzed for HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG antibodies quantitatively with IgG Type-Specific ELISA kit. In this research, the overall prevalence of HSV infection was 76.7%. Data further showed that majority (96.4%) of the population studied had HSV-1, while 77% had HSV-2 infections. Results also showed that the young adults age 15-25 years indicated prevalence of 93.7% for HSV-1 and 74.4% for HSV-2, while in the middle aged 26-35 years, the prevalence were 100% for HSV-1, and 78.4% for HSV-2. In the age group of 36-45 years the prevalence for HSV-1 and HSV-2 were 98.2% and 82.5% respectfully Among the married women the prevalence was 99.2% for HSV-1, while that of HSV-2 was 86.9% . For the unmarried women the prevalence was 94.5% for HSV-1, and 70.5% for HSV-2. The risk of HSV-1 or HSV-2 infections was not associated with age, age of first sexual exposure and number sex partners before marriage. Married women were at greater risk for HSV-1 (p = 0.03) and HSV-2 (p ≤ 0.001) infections compared to the unmarried women. The prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 among educated subject were 96.2% and 79.9% respectfully while that of uneducated were 66.7% and 75%.The prevalence of HSV-1 and HV-2 among subject who had sexual intercourse below 15 years of age were 100% and 78.9% respectfully while those who had above 15 years of age were 98.4% for HSV-1 and 80.7% for HSV-2. The prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 according to number of sexual partner before marriage were 100% for four partners, for three partners the prevalence was 100% and 83.3% respectfully. For two partners the prevalence for HSV-1 and 2 were 100% and 75% while that of one partner were 99% and 78.6% respectively. There were no significant difference (p=0.611) between the CD4 counts of HSV-1 and HSV-2 infected women and that of uninfected women. In conclusion, the prevalence of the HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections was high among asymptomatic healthy women of childbearing age in Kogi State, Nigeria. Efforts should be made to increase the awareness of HSV infection among women of child bearing populace.