Isolation of herpes simplex virus from sexually transmitted disease patients in Ibadan, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Despite the public health importance of herpes simplex virus infection in Nigeria, attempts have not been made to isolate and identify the virus.

GOAL OF THE STUDY

To isolate, identify, and type the virus from patients attending a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria.

STUDY DESIGN

One hundred fifty-three clinical samples from 116 patients were taken and inoculated into tissue culture for virus isolation. The isolates were identified and typed using chloroform sensitivity test, histocytological study, Complement Fixation Test (CFT), and indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFAT).

RESULT

Virus was isolated from seven of the 153 samples. Two of the seven were HSV-1, and five were HSV-2.

CONCLUSION

This is the first documented isolation of the herpes simplex virus in Nigeria. The study has provided baseline data for future studies on genital herpes in Nigeria. These results may have interesting implications with respect of HIV transmission and other related sexually transmitted diseases in Nigeria.