Association of herpes simplex virus type 2 with the human immunodeficiency virus among urban women in Zimbabwe

Abstract

A cross-sectional study at two urban primary health care clinics in Zimbabwe was conducted among 393 consecutive women. The purpose was to determine the seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), to identify coinfections and to determine the association between HSV-2, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Sera were tested for HSV-2, HIV and syphilis. Genital specimens were tested for the other STIs. The seroprevalence of ulcerative STIs tested was 42.2% for HSV-2 and 3.9% for syphilis. HSV-2 seropositive women had twice the risk of being HIV infected compared to HSV-2 seronegative women, adjusted OR=2.05 (95% CI=1.29-3.23). HSV-2 seropositivity was also associated with older age, a lower level of education, increase in the number of lifetime sexual partners and history of genital ulcers in the past six or more months. Our data suggest that in this population HSV-2 may contribute more to HIV infection than syphilis because of its high frequency. There is an urgent need for development of an effective HSV-2 vaccine.