Department of Microbiology, North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa.
F1000Res. 2021 Feb 11;10:105. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.28105.4. eCollection 2021.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a widely distributed human pathogen that is known for its ulcerative lesions at the infection site. HSV can cause persistent infection in the host that is often followed by a period of latency within the neurons. Considering the high rate of HIV infection in South Africa, it is important to assess the seroprevalence of HSV with a focus to determine the epidemiological association between HSV-DNA and HIV-1 in the population. A total of 44 sera samples were screened for HSV and HIV-1 using the highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ELISA positive samples were characterized using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm the positivity of both viruses and to further differentiate HSV into HSV-1 and -2. Thereafter, the samples were analysed for relatedness using phylogenetic analysis. Of the 44 samples, 36 (81.8%) were positive for HIV-1, while 35 (79.5%) were positive for HSV when screened with ELISA kits. The PCR results, with the use of type specific primers, showed that 4/35 (11.4%) samples were specific for HSV-1 while 30/35 (85.7%) were specific for HSV-2. Statistical analysis performed using the chi-squared goodness-of-fit test showed that there is a significant relationship between HSV-2 and HIV-1 transmission. There is a significant positive association between HSV-2 and HIV-1 in the study population. Our study shows that some of the HSV-2 isolates are not related to the clinical isolate SD90e from South Africa, suggesting diversity in HSV-2 viral transmission.
单纯疱疹病毒（HSV）是一种广泛分布的人类病原体，其特征是在感染部位出现溃疡性病变。HSV 可在宿主体内引起持续性感染，随后通常在神经元内潜伏一段时间。考虑到南非 HIV 感染率较高，评估 HSV 的血清流行率很重要，重点是确定人群中 HSV-DNA 与 HIV-1 之间的流行病学关联。使用高度敏感的酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）对 44 份血清样本进行 HSV 和 HIV-1 筛查。用聚合酶链反应（PCR）对 ELISA 阳性样本进行特征分析，以确认两种病毒的阳性，并进一步将 HSV 分为 HSV-1 和 HSV-2。然后，使用系统发生分析对样本进行相关性分析。在 44 个样本中，36 个（81.8%）对 HIV-1 呈阳性，而 35 个（79.5%）对 HSV 呈阳性，当用 ELISA 试剂盒筛查时。使用型特异性引物的 PCR 结果显示，4/35（11.4%）样本为 HSV-1 特异性，而 30/35（85.7%）为 HSV-2 特异性。使用卡方拟合优度检验进行的统计分析表明，HSV-2 和 HIV-1 传播之间存在显著关系。在研究人群中，HSV-2 与 HIV-1 之间存在显著的正相关关系。我们的研究表明，一些 HSV-2 分离株与南非的临床分离株 SD90e 没有关系，表明 HSV-2 病毒传播存在多样性。
