![]() ![]() ![]() Point estimates of proportions are given with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results of the Helix pomatia based gG2-test are presented here to increase the precision in the comparisons with earlier studies. For verification, all positive sera were further analysed with a commercial kit approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Herpes Select HSV-2 ELISA (Focus Diagnostics), which is based on recombinantly produced gG2 (1). A high titrating HSV-1 positive serum was used as control and the cut-off was set to the mean value of this control plus 0.2 absorbance units. Sera were initially tested with an in-house enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) test, based on Helix pomatia lectin-purified glycoprotein G (gG) 2 antigen (9). The mean age of those included was 27.7 years (range 16–57 years). Of the 483 women offered testing 290 (60%) accepted and were included in the present study. Clinical data and an analysis of drop-outs have been published earlier (8). Blood was drawn from all 661 women for rubella and HIV testing, as is routine in Sweden, and a random sample of 299 (45%, age range 17–45, mean 30.5 years) sera was tested anonymously for HSV-2 antibodies.Ĭlinic for sexually transmitted infectionsĭuring the period January 2000 to May 2001 (apart from the summer months June to August) consecutive patients attending the STI Clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital were offered a blood test for HSV-2 antibodies besides the routine testing for Chlamydia trachomatis, HIV and syphilis. The majority of the women were in their first trimester. The socio-economic status of the inhabitants in the catchment area was estimated to be representative of the general population of Gothenburg. The study included consecutive attendees at an antenatal clinic during 2002. The aim of this study was to estimate the age-related HSV-2 seroprevalence for Swedish women at the beginning of the 21 st century, both in an antenatal clinic and an STI clinic, and to compare the findings with previous studies from Sweden. A high seroprevalence of HSV-2 has been reported in Swedish women who were pregnant during the 1970s and 1980s, and is presumed to reflect sexual risk-taking during the 1960s and 1970s (5–7). While the prevalence of bacterial infections may reflect ongoing sexual risk-taking in a society, HSV-2 antibodies reflect temporal phenomena such as changes in sexual behaviour. In contrast to the bacterial STIs, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, genital herpes is a chronic infection. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and changes in the seroprevalence of HSV-2 antibodies have been proposed to mirror changes in sexual behaviour over time (2–4). ![]() Most cases of recurring genital herpes are caused by HSV-2, and the presence of HSV-2 antibodies is mainly considered to reflect genital herpes infection. E-mail: serological tests discriminating between herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) became available in the 1990s (1), it has been possible to follow changes in the epidemiology of HSV infections. Matilda Berntsson, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SE-413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden. Key words: herpes simplex virus seroprevalence pregnancy sexually transmitted diseases. The seroprevalence of HSV-2 in pregnant women appears to have decreased in Sweden during the past decade, which may reflect changes in sexual behaviour. The overall HSV-2 prevalence was 10.4% for the pregnant women and 25.2% for the female attendees at the clinic for sexually transmitted infections. To enable comparison with earlier seroprevalence data the same test method was used Helix pomatia antigen in an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Sera were collected during the period 2000 to 2002 from 299 pregnant women at an antenatal clinic and from 290 female attendees at a clinic for sexually transmitted infections in Gothenburg. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the HSV-2 seroprevalence in pregnant women and in the female attendees at a clinic for sexually transmitted infections in Sweden at the beginning of the 21 st century and to compare the results with those of earlier Swedish studies. High estimates of herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence have been reported for women who were pregnant in Sweden in the 1980s, probably reflecting sexual risk-taking during the 1960s and 1970s. ![]()
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