ArticleThe Lancet. Infectious diseases2020
Global and regional estimates of the contribution of herpes simplex virus type 2 infection to HIV incidence: a population attributable fraction analysis using published epidemiological data.
Article in The Lancet. Infectious diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Estimated global and regional incidence and prevalence of herpes simplex virus infections and genital ulcer disease in 2020: mathematical modelling analyses.Sexually transmitted infections · 2025Pooled it
- Aetiology of vaginal discharge, urethral discharge, and genital ulcer in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-regression.PLoS medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Estimated economic burden of genital herpes and HIV attributable to herpes simplex virus type 2 infections in 90 low- and middle-income countries: A modeling study.PLoS medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Prevalence of herpes simplex virus 2 among MSM in Mainland China: a systematic review and meta-synthesis.AIDS research and therapy · 2022Pooled it
- Epidemiology of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand: Systematic Review, Meta-Analyses, and Meta-Regressions.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Virucidal efficacy of chlorhexidine: a systematic review.Odontology · 2022Pooled it
- Healthcare resource utilisation pattern and costs associated with herpes simplex virus diagnosis and management: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Epidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 2 in Latin America and the Caribbean: systematic review, meta-analyses and metaregressions.Sexually transmitted infections · 2021Pooled it
- Incidence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection Among African Women Using Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate, a Copper Intrauterine Device, or a Levonorgestrel Implant for Contraception: A Nested Randomized Trial.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2022Trial
- Europium nanoparticle-based lateral flow assay for rapid detection of herpes simplex virus 2-specific antibodies in serum: a preliminary evaluation.RSC advances · 2026Article
- HSV, HIV, and Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Viral Interactions, Management, and Prevention.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2026Review
- Towards Elimination of Sexually Transmitted Infections: Research Developments and Vaccine Uptake.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2026Article
- Development and Pilot Evaluation of a Training-of-Trainers Model for School-Based Sexuality Education Within the ESPRIT Project.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Mathematical modeling of the population-level impact of hypothetical herpes simplex virus type 2 curative therapy.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Poor Oral HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Persistence in an Integrated PrEP/STI Program in Malawi.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Sex-specific biological susceptibility and sexual mixing patterns in herpes simplex virus type 2 transmission: a mathematical modeling study.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
- Association between dietary zinc intake and herpes simplex virus seropositivity in U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Screening in Persons with and Without HIV: Evidence, Challenges, and Future Directions.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2026Review
- Marine Derived Natural Products: Emerging Therapeutics Against Herpes Simplex Virus Infection.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- HSV-2 gE2/gI2 are immune evasion molecules that bind IgG Fc to inhibit antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA 2017 systematic review and meta-analysis of 55 prospective studies found the adjusted risk of HIV acquisition to be at least tripled in individuals with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection. We aimed to assess the potential contribution of HSV-2 infection to HIV incidence, given an effect of HSV-2 on HIV acquisition.
methodsWe used a classic epidemiological formula to estimate the global and regional (WHO regional) population attributable fraction (PAF) and number of incident HIV infections attributable to HSV-2 infection by age (15-24 years, 25-49 years, and 15-49 years), sex, and timing of HSV-2 infection (established vs recently acquired). Estimates were calculated by incorporating HSV-2 and HIV infection data with pooled relative risk (RR) estimates for the effect of HSV-2 infection on HIV acquisition from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Because HSV-2 and HIV have shared sexual and other risk factors, in addition to HSV-related biological factors that increase HIV risk, we only used RR estimates that were adjusted for potential confounders.
findingsAn estimated 420 000 (95% uncertainty interval 317 000-546 000; PAF 29·6% [22·9-37·1]) of 1·4 million sexually acquired incident HIV infections in individuals aged 15-49 years in 2016 were attributable to HSV-2 infection. The contribution of HSV-2 to HIV was largest for the WHO African region (PAF 37·1% [28·7-46·3]), women (34·8% [23·5-45·0]), individuals aged 25-49 years (32·4% [25·4-40·2]), and established HSV-2 infection (26·8% [19·7-34·5]).
interpretationA large burden of HIV is likely to be attributable to HSV-2 infection, even if the effect of HSV-2 infection on HIV had been imperfectly measured in studies providing adjusted RR estimates, potentially because of residual confounding. The contribution is likely to be greatest in areas where HSV-2 is highly prevalent, particularly Africa. New preventive interventions against HSV-2 infection could not only improve the quality of life of millions of people by reducing the prevalence of herpetic genital ulcer disease, but could also have an additional, indirect effect on HIV transmission.
fundingWHO.
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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.