International Journal of STD & AIDS > Volume 19, Number 3 > Pp. 159-160

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Original research articles

Low seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 among pregnant women in Senegal

Silman Diawara PharmD ^*, Coumba Toure Kane PharmD PhD  , Jérôme Legoff PharmD PhD , Astou Gueye Gaye PharmD , Souleymane Mboup PharmD PhD  and Laurent Bélec MD PhD 

^* Hôpital Militaire de Ouakam, Dakar; Laboratoire de Bactériologie-virologie, Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec, Dakar, Sénégal; Université Paris V, Laboratoire de Virologie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Correspondence to: Coumba Toure Kane, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Sénégal; Laboratoire de Bactériologie-virologie, Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec, Dakar, Senegal Email: ctourekane{at}yahoo.co.uk

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is considered as a major co-factor of both sexual transmission and acquisition of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV epidemic in Senegal is characterized by a remarkable and stable low prevalence. Whether HSV-2 may also constitute a possible co-factor favouring the spreading of HIV epidemic in Senegal is yet unknown. This prompted us to evaluate the HSV-2 seroprevalence in the sentinel population of pregnant women in Senegal. Two hundred and sixty pregnant women attending Roi Baudouin maternity in the capital city Dakar (n = 135) and the antenatal clinic in Kaolack (n = 125), the third city of Senegal, were prospectively recruited between March and August 2003. Fifty-six women (22%) were positive for HSV-2 serology. The prevalence of HSV-2 seropositivity was higher in women living in Dakar (26%) than in those living in Kaolack (16%) (P < 0.01). Only two women from Dakar and two other from Kaolack were found to be HIV-1-infected. Our observations suggest a seemingly low seroprevalence of HSV-2 infection in adult women Senegal, comparable with those usually reported in Western countries. Further, epidemiological surveys are needed to confirm these results in the general population.

Key Words: HSV-2 • pregnancy • Senegal

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				C T. Kane, S Diawara, H D Ndiaye, P A N Diallo, A S Wade, A G Diallo, L Belec, and S Mboup Concentrated and linked epidemics of both HSV-2 and HIV-1/HIV-2 infections in Senegal: public health impacts of the spread of HIV Int J STD AIDS, November 1, 2009; 20(11): 793 - 796. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]