Herpes simplex virus type 2 cross-sectional seroprevalence and the estimated rate of neonatal infections among a cohort of rural Malawian female adolescents
Document Type
Article (peer-reviewed)
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
Objective: To assess herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence among rural Malawian adolescent women and estimate the number of neonatal herpes infections among infants of these adolescents. Methods: A longitudinal cohort study of adolescents (14–16 years at entry) residing in rural Malawi was initiated in 2007 with annual observation. HSV-2 testing was introduced in 2010. In this study, we (1) determined, using cross-sectional analysis, risk factors for positive serostatus, (2) adjusted for non-response bias with imputation methods and (3) estimated the incidence of neonatal herpes infection using mathematical models. Results: A total of 1195 female adolescents (age 17–20 years) were interviewed in 2010, with an observed HSV-2 seroprevalence of 15.2% among the 955 women tested. From a multivariate analysis, risk factors for HSV-2 seropositivity include older age (p=0.037), moving from the baseline village (p=0.020) and report of sexual activity with increasing number of partners (p < 0.021). Adjusting for non-response bias, the estimated HSV-2 seroprevalence among the total female cohort (composed of all women interviewed in 2007) was 18.0% (95% CI 16.0% to 20.2%). HSV-2 seropositivity was estimated to be 25.6% (95% CI 19.6% to 32.5%) for women who refused to provide a blood sample. The estimated number of neonatal herpes infections among the total female cohort was 71.8 (95% CI 57.3 to 86.3) per 100 000 live births. Conclusions: The risk of HSV-2 seroconversion is high during adolescence, when childbearing is beginning, among rural Malawian women. Research on interventions to reduce horizontal and vertical HSV-2 transmission during adolescence in resource-limited settings is needed.
DOI
10.1136/sextrans-2012-050869
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Sudfeld, Christopher R., Paul C. Hewett, Nadia N. Abuelezam, Satvika Chalasani, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Christine A. Kelly, and Barbara Mensch. 2013. "Herpes simplex virus type 2 cross-sectional seroprevalence and the estimated rate of neonatal infections among a cohort of rural Malawian female adolescents," Sexually Transmitted Infections 89(7): 561–567.
Project
Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Study