@Article{pakinsight,
AUTHOR = {},
TITLE = {Seroprevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2) Infection Among HIV Patients Accessing Healthcare at Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nigeria},
JOURNAL = {Journal of Diagnostics},
VOLUME = {3},
YEAR = {2016},
NUMBER = {2},
PAGES = {31-37},
URL = {http://www.pakinsight.com/archive/98/12-2016/2},
ISSN = {2409-322X},
ABSTRACT = {Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections is a sexually transmitted
 infection worldwide, which has a public health implications especially 
as a driving force behind the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 
epidemic. It is known to cause genital ulcer as well as lesions. It is a
 lifelong recurrent disease with no cure. Due to the lack of documented 
HSV-2 studies among HIV patients in this study area with an estimated 
HIV prevalence of 38.7%, there was a need for estimating the 
seroprevalence of HSV-2 infection in the study population. The sera of 
223 consenting HIV positive patients were screened for HSV-2 specific 
IgG using an ELISA test kit (Cortez Diagnostic, Inc, USA). The 
chi-square test was performed to identify possible risk factors 
associated with the viral seropositivity. The overall seroprevalence of 
the viral infection was 77.6%. Females recorded a prevalence of 84.5% 
and males 51.0% (p > 0.05). Participants aged ≤ 20 and ≥ 61 years 
recorded a prevalence of 100%, while the lowest prevalence (66.7%) was 
observed in those aged 51-60 years (p > 0.05). There was a 
statistically significant association between the seroprevalence of 
HSV-2 in HIV patients in relation to locality. Patients from the rural 
setting had a higher prevalence (85.2%) of the infection than those from
 the urban setting (72.6%) (p ≤ 0.05). However, in this study, marital 
status, occupation, level of education, antiretroviral therapy (ART) 
status and CD4 counts, had no statistically significant association with
 HSV-2 infection (p > 0.05). Awareness campaigns that will promote 
behavioral change might be the most important strategy to mitigate 
transmission as most of the infected persons usually show no clinical 
symptoms. The role of vaccination and condom use among high risk groups 
may help in combating the transmission.},
DOI = {10.18488/journal.98/2016.3.2/98.2.31.37}
}