International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 17, Number 2 > Pp. 124-127

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Original research articles

Genital shedding of herpes simplex virus type 2 in childbearing-aged and pregnant women living in Gabon

Francis Ozouaki, Angélique Ndjoyi-Mbiguino, Jérôme Legoff, Isabelle Ndombi Onas, Eric Kendjo, Ali Si-Mohamed, François-Xavier Mbopi-Kéou, Jean-Elie Malkin and Laurent Bélec

Maternité Joséphine Bongo, Gabon; Département de Microbiologie, Laboratoire National de Référence des Maladies Sexuellement Transmissibles et de l'infection à VIH, Faculté de Médecine, Université des Sciences de la Santé Libreville, Gabon; Université Paris V, Epuipe 'Immunité et Biothérapie Muqueuse', Unité INSERM Internationale U743 ('Immunologie Humaine'), Centre de Recherches Biomédicales des Cordeliers & Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Service de Gynécologie et Obstétrique, Centre Hospitalier de Libreville, Gabon; Département de Parasitologie-Mycologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université des Sciences de la Santé, Libreville, Gabon; Université Paris V, Epuipe 'Immunité et Biothérapie Muqueuse', Unité INSERM Internationale U743 ('Immunologie Humaine'), Centre de Recherches Biomédicales des Cordeliers & Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Faculté de Médecine et de Sciences Biomédicales, Université de Yaoundé I & Laboratoire de Santé Hygiène Mobile, Yaoundé, Cameroun; Centre Médical, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Université Paris V, Epuipe 'Immunité et Biothérapie Muqueuse', Unité INSERM Internationale U743 ('Immunologie Humaine'), Centre de Recherches Biomédicales des Cordeliers & Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

The prevalence of genital shedding of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 and related risk factors was evaluated in a prospective population of 355 women attending the Maternity Joséphine Bongo, in Libreville, Gabon. We found a high prevalence (66%) of HSV-2 seropositivity, with a high proportion, 14%, of women harbouring HSV-2 DNA shedding in their genital secretions. HSV-2 genital shedding was positively associated with previous episodes of genital blisters, current genital ulcer, current genital blister, HIV seropositivity and HSV-2 seropositivity. The high prevalence of HSV-2 in childbearing-aged population indicates that young women living in Gabon are at high risk for HIV acquisition in HIV-seronegative women sexually exposed to HIV, for HIV transmission in HIV-infected women co-infected by HSV-2 and finally for HSV-2 vertical transmission during pregnancy.

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