ArticleBulletin of the World Health Organization2008
An estimate of the global prevalence and incidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection.
Article in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 203 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
203 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 490 citations in OpenAlex.
- Herpes simplex virus: global infection prevalence and incidence estimates, 2016.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2020Pooled it
- Genital herpes: oral antiviral treatments.BMJ clinical evidence · 2015Pooled it
- Oral antiviral therapy for prevention of genital herpes outbreaks in immunocompetent and nonpregnant patients.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Genital herpes.BMJ clinical evidence · 2011Pooled it
- HSV-2 serology can be predictive of HIV epidemic potential and hidden sexual risk behavior in the Middle East and North Africa.Epidemics · 2010Pooled it
- Prevalent Herpes Simplex Virus-2 Increases the Risk of Incident Bacterial Vaginosis in Women from South Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2018Trial
- Antibody to HSV gD peptide induced by vaccination does not protect against HSV-2 infection in HSV-2 seronegative women.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) infection and associated risk factors in a cohort of HIV negative women in Durban, South Africa.BMC research notes · 2016Trial
- Effect of Condom Use on Per-act HSV-2 Transmission Risk in HIV-1, HSV-2-discordant Couples.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2016Trial
- Tenofovir Gel for the Prevention of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection.The New England journal of medicine · 2015Trial
- Etiology of genital ulcer disease and association with HIV infection in Malawi.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2013Trial
- Immunogenicity and safety of different formulations of an adjuvanted glycoprotein D genital herpes vaccine in healthy adults: a double-blind randomized trial.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2013Trial
- Effect of daily aciclovir on HIV disease progression in individuals in Rakai, Uganda, co-infected with HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus type 2: a randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled trial.The Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2012Trial
- Standard-dose and high-dose daily antiviral therapy for short episodes of genital HSV-2 reactivation: three randomised, open-label, cross-over trials.Lancet (London, England) · 2012Trial
- Impact of herpes simplex virus type 2 on HIV-1 acquisition and progression in an HIV vaccine trial (the Step study).Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2011Trial
- An Immunocompetent Host With Severe Disseminated Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection With Hepatorenal Involvement.Cureus · 2025Article
- Tackling cutaneous herpes simplex virus disease with topical immunomodulators-a call to action.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Cytokine secretion patterns distinguish herpes simplex virus type 2 meningitis from herpes simplex virus type 2 genital herpes.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Analysis of HSV1/2 Infection Reveals an Association between HSV-2 Reactivation and Pregnancy.Viruses · 2024Article
- Article
143 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate the global prevalence and incidence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in 2003.
methodsA systematic review was undertaken of published seroprevalence surveys describing the prevalence or incidence of HSV-2 by age and gender. For each of 12 regions, pooled prevalence values by age and gender were generated in a random-effect model. HSV-2 incidence was then estimated from these pooled values using a constant-incidence model. Values of the HSV-2 seroprevalence from the model fits were applied to the total population to estimate the numbers of people infected.
findingsThe total number of people aged 15-49 years who were living with HSV-2 infection worldwide in 2003 is estimated to be 536 million, while the total number of people who were newly infected with HSV-2 in 2003 is estimated to be 23.6 million. While the estimates are limited by poor availability of data, general trends are evident. For example, more women than men were infected, and the number infected increased with age. Although prevalence varied substantially by region, predicted prevalence was mostly higher in developing regions than developed regions.
conclusionThe prevalence of HSV-2 is relatively easy to measure since infection is lifelong and has a specific serological test. The burden of disease is less easy to quantify. Despite the often sparse data on which these estimates are based, it is clear that HSV-2 infection is widespread. The dramatic differences in prevalence between regions are worthy of further exploration.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.