Mahic & Lipkin (M&L) draw attention to a wholly new health concern in relation to Herpes Simplex Virus 2. The condition is highly contagious, and the symptoms may be very unpleasant especially during the ‘primary outbreak’, the virus is not, in itself, a major public health concern. Indeed, up until the 1980s, it was rarely […]
Category: HSV-2
Global patterns in ante-natal syphilis prevalence: Why is sub-Saharan Africa different?
‘Can a meaningful pattern be discerned in the large variations in syphilis rates over the last century?’ This is the question addressed by a recent systematic review – Kenyon & Tsoumanis (K&T) – based on published data on ante-natal syphilis prevalence (ASP) from those countries for which that data is available since at least 1951. […]
HIV epidemic among heterosexual non-intravenous drug-users: could HSV-2 co-infection be the driver?
Why such high HIV prevalence reported for non-injecting drug users who are predominantly heterosexual? This reaches 37% in Porto Alegre, Brazil; 43% in China; 13% in Canada; 20% in Florida; 19% in New York City; 24% in Portugal; 29% in Russia? Possible factors include impaired decision making under the influence of drugs or the exchange of sex […]
Who wants to know their HSV-2 serology status, anyway?
Though 75% to 90% of HSV-2 infected persons may be unaware of their condition, they may still be capable of transmitting the infection. A recent study investigates the patterns of viral shedding and presumed infectivity in “asymptomatic” HSV-2 (i.e. HSV-2 in persons unaware of their condition prs to diagnosis) as against “symptomatic” infection. The occasion […]
Is African HSV-2 different ?
Still on the topic of HSV-2 … A clinically effective vaccine has yet to be achieved, though efforts are being made to develop one. A replication-defective HSV-2 mutant virus – the US strain HSV-2 dl5-29 – has been shown to induce immunity against the US strains HSV-2 G and 333 in mice and guinea pigs. […]