Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2019 Apr 22;14(4):e0215487.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215487. eCollection 2019.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 epidemiology in Latin America and the Caribbean: Systematic review and meta-analytics

Layan Sukik  1   2 , Maryam Alyafei  1   2 , Manale Harfouche  1 , Laith J Abu-Raddad  1   3   4
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Herpes simplex virus type 1 epidemiology in Latin America and the Caribbean: Systematic review and meta-analytics

Layan Sukik et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the epidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analytics guided by the Cochrane Collaboration Handbook and reported following the PRISMA guidelines.

Results: Thirty-three relevant reports were identified including 35 overall (and 95 stratified) seroprevalence measures, and five and nine proportions of virus isolation in genital ulcer disease (GUD) and in genital herpes, respectively. Pooled mean seroprevalence was 57.2% (95% CI: 49.7-64.6%) among children and 88.4% (95% CI: 85.2-91.2%) among adults. Pooled mean seroprevalence was lowest at 49.7% (95% CI: 42.8-56.6%) in those aged ≤10, followed by 77.8% (95% CI: 67.9-84.8%) in those aged 10-20, 82.8% (95% CI: 73.1-90.8%) in those aged 20-30, 92.5% (95% CI: 89.4-95.1%) in those aged 30-40, and 94.2% (95% CI: 92.7-95.5%) in those aged ≥40. Age was the strongest source of heterogeneity in seroprevalence, explaining 54% of variation. Evidence was found for seroprevalence decline over time. Pooled mean proportion of HSV-1 isolation was 0.9% (95% CI: 0.0-3.6%) in GUD and 10.9% (95% CI: 4.4-19.4%) in genital herpes.

Conclusions: HSV-1 is a widely prevalent infection in this region, but its epidemiology may be slowly transitioning, with still limited contribution for HSV-1 in genital herpes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Population type definition and classification.
Abbreviation: HSV-1 = Herpes simplex virus type 1.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Flow chart of article selection for the systematic review of HSV-1 infection in Latin America and the Caribbean, per the PRISMA guidelines [15].
Abbreviation: HSV-1 = Herpes simplex virus type 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Looker KJ, Magaret AS, May MT, Turner KM, Vickerman P, Gottlieb SL, et al. Global and regional estimates of prevalent and incident herpes simplex virus type 1 infections in 2012. PloS one. 2015;10(10):e0140765 10.1371/journal.pone.0140765 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brady RC, Bernstein DI. Treatment of herpes simplex virus infections. Antiviral Res. 2004;61(2):73–81. . - PubMed
    1. Fatahzadeh M, Schwartz RA. Human herpes simplex virus infections: epidemiology, pathogenesis, symptomatology, diagnosis, and management. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007;57(5):737–63; quiz 64–6. 10.1016/j.jaad.2007.06.027 . - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bernstein DI, Bellamy AR, Hook EW 3rd, Levin MJ, Wald A, Ewell MG, et al. Epidemiology, clinical presentation, and antibody response to primary infection with herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 in young women. Clin Infect Dis. 2013;56(3):344–51. Epub 2012/10/23. 10.1093/cid/cis891 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roberts CM, Pfister JR, Spear SJ. Increasing proportion of herpes simplex virus type 1 as a cause of genital herpes infection in college students. Sex Transm Dis. 2003;30(10):797–800. 10.1097/01.OLQ.0000092387.58746.C7 . - DOI - PubMed

Publication types