HSV-1 prevalence 47.8 percent in 14- to 49-year-olds

(HealthDay)—The prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 is 47.8 and 11.9 percent, respectively, for individuals aged 14 to 49 years, according to a February data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

Geraldine McQuillan, Ph.D., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues estimated the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies among individuals aged 14 to 49 years using data from the 2015 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The researchers found that the prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 was 47.8 and 11.9 percent, respectively, during 2015 to 2016. With age, the prevalence of both HSV-1 and HSV-2 increased. Compared with males, females had higher prevalence of both HSV-1 and HSV-2. Mexican-American individuals had the highest prevalence of HSV-1, and non-Hispanic whites had the lowest prevalence. For HSV-2, prevalence was highest among non-Hispanic blacks and lowest among non-Hispanic Asians. From 1999-2000 to 2015-2016, there was a decrease in the prevalence of both HSV-1 (from 59.4 to 48.1 percent) and HSV-2 (from 18 to 12.1 percent).

"From 1999 through 2016, there was a significant decline in the age-standardized prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2," the authors write. "For both virus types, a decrease in prevalence over time was seen in all race and Hispanic-origin subpopulations."