Seroprevalence of Anti HSV-2 IgG among Women of Reproductive Age attending General Hospital Dutse

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) remains one of the widespread and chronic sexually transmitted infections (STI) globally with the highest disease burden in African females. A study to determine the humoral immune response to HSV-2 was carried out with a view to “x-raying” the magnitude of the infection among females of reproductive age in Dutse. A total of 94 clients were recruited for the study and samples were randomly collected after obtaining their consent. A structured questionnaire was administered to capture demographic information in addition to knowledge, attitude, and practices of each respondent. Samples were tested for the presence of IgG antibodies against HSV-2 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results were further subjected to the Chi-square test using SPSS version 22.0 where p-values of ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Out of the 94 samples tested, 29 (30.9%) were positive for anti-HSV-2 IgG with high seroprevalence rates among all age groups. However, the age group 15-19 recorded the highest seroprevalence of 46.2%. Similarly, age groups 20-29, 30-39, and ≥ 40 recorded 28.8%, 26.3%, and 33.3%, respectively. The Chi-square test showed that seroprevalence of HSV-2 was not significantly associated with age, marital status, or level of education. However, it was strongly associated with the number of sexual partners (p = 0.048). Higher seroprevalence was also recorded among women with no educational exposure than those with at least primary or higher levels of education. However, seroprevalence of infection was not statistically associated with level of education (p = 0.059). Married women recorded a higher seroprevalence than the singles. The findings of this research indicate a high seroprevalence of Herpes Simplex - 2 Virus among women of reproductive age, which implies a public health problem to the populace of Dutse and Jigawa state at large, making it necessary for the government and other stakeholders to properly curtail the situation through public enlightenment and the implementation of other health policies.