Skip to main content
PMC home page
Sexually Transmitted Infections logoLink to Sexually Transmitted Infections
. 2005 Aug;81(4):309–315. doi: 10.1136/sti.2004.012146

The psychosocial impact of serological herpes simplex type 2 testing in an urban HIV clinic

J Meyer 1, R Crosby 1, W Whittington 1, D Carrell 1, R Ashley-Morrow 1, A Meier 1, R Harrington 1, R DiClemente 1, A Wald 1
PMCID: PMC1745021  PMID: 16061537

Abstract

Methods: At entry, sera were tested for HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies by western blot. Participants completed a 90 item psychosocial and life quality questionnaire at enrolment, and at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after receiving test results.

Results: Of 248 HIV infected participants, 172 (69.4%) were HSV-2 seropositive and 116 (67.4%) seropositive people did not have a previous history of genital herpes. After correction for multiple comparisons, no statistically significant differences were detected on the psychosocial and life quality scales between those who received a new HSV-2 serological diagnosis compared with those who were HSV-2 seropositive with a history of genital herpes, or those who tested HSV-2 seronegative. Additionally, no significant changes in scores were observed during follow up.

Conclusions: HSV-2 was a common but often unrecognised infection in this urban HIV clinic and participants coped well with a positive HSV-2 result. Concerns about psychosocial burden should not deter serological testing for HSV-2. Given the epidemiological and clinical interaction between HSV-2 and HIV, these data support routine HSV-2 testing of HIV infected people.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (94.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ashley R. L., Militoni J., Lee F., Nahmias A., Corey L. Comparison of Western blot (immunoblot) and glycoprotein G-specific immunodot enzyme assay for detecting antibodies to herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 in human sera. J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Apr;26(4):662–667. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.4.662-667.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Carney O., Ross E., Bunker C., Ikkos G., Mindel A. A prospective study of the psychological impact on patients with a first episode of genital herpes. Genitourin Med. 1994 Feb;70(1):40–45. doi: 10.1136/sti.70.1.40. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Catotti D. N., Clarke P., Catoe K. E. Herpes revisited. Still a cause of concern. Sex Transm Dis. 1993 Mar-Apr;20(2):77–80. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Corey L., Handsfield H. H. Genital herpes and public health: addressing a global problem. JAMA. 2000 Feb 9;283(6):791–794. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.6.791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Corey Lawrence, Wald Anna, Celum Connie L., Quinn Thomas C. The effects of herpes simplex virus-2 on HIV-1 acquisition and transmission: a review of two overlapping epidemics. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2004 Apr 15;35(5):435–445. doi: 10.1097/00126334-200404150-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Corey Lawrence, Wald Anna, Patel Raj, Sacks Stephen L., Tyring Stephen K., Warren Terri, Douglas John M., Jr, Paavonen Jorma, Morrow R. Ashley, Beutner Karl R. Once-daily valacyclovir to reduce the risk of transmission of genital herpes. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jan 1;350(1):11–20. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa035144. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fleming D. T., McQuillan G. M., Johnson R. E., Nahmias A. J., Aral S. O., Lee F. K., St Louis M. E. Herpes simplex virus type 2 in the United States, 1976 to 1994. N Engl J Med. 1997 Oct 16;337(16):1105–1111. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199710163371601. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Melville J., Sniffen S., Crosby R., Salazar L., Whittington W., Dithmer-Schreck D., DiClemente R., Wald A. Psychosocial impact of serological diagnosis of herpes simplex virus type 2: a qualitative assessment. Sex Transm Infect. 2003 Aug;79(4):280–285. doi: 10.1136/sti.79.4.280. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mertz G. J., Schmidt O., Jourden J. L., Guinan M. E., Remington M. L., Fahnlander A., Winter C., Holmes K. K., Corey L. Frequency of acquisition of first-episode genital infection with herpes simplex virus from symptomatic and asymptomatic source contacts. Sex Transm Dis. 1985 Jan-Mar;12(1):33–39. doi: 10.1097/00007435-198501000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mindel Adrian, Taylor Janette. Debate: the argument against. Should every STD clinic patient be considered for type-specific serological screening for HSV? Herpes. 2002 Jul;9(2):35–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Miyai Tomio, Turner Katherine R., Kent Charlotte K., Klausner Jeffrey. The psychosocial impact of testing individuals with no history of genital herpes for herpes simplex virus type 2. Sex Transm Dis. 2004 Sep;31(9):517–521. doi: 10.1097/01.olq.0000137901.71284.6b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Patel R., Tyring S., Strand A., Price M. J., Grant D. M. Impact of suppressive antiviral therapy on the health related quality of life of patients with recurrent genital herpes infection. Sex Transm Infect. 1999 Dec;75(6):398–402. doi: 10.1136/sti.75.6.398. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Russell D. B., Tabrizi S. N., Russell J. M., Garland S. M. Seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 in HIV-infected and uninfected homosexual men in a primary care setting. J Clin Virol. 2001 Oct;22(3):305–313. doi: 10.1016/s1386-6532(01)00203-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Schacker Timothy, Zeh Judith, Hu Huilin, Shaughnessy Mary, Corey Lawrence. Changes in plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 RNA associated with herpes simplex virus reactivation and suppression. J Infect Dis. 2002 Nov 22;186(12):1718–1725. doi: 10.1086/345771. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Smith A., Denham I., Keogh L., Jacobs D., McHarg V., Marceglia A., Wood V. Psychosocial impact of type-specific herpes simplex serological testing on asymptomatic sexual health clinic attendees. Int J STD AIDS. 2000 Jan;11(1):15–20. doi: 10.1258/0956462001914841. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Stamm W. E., Handsfield H. H., Rompalo A. M., Ashley R. L., Roberts P. L., Corey L. The association between genital ulcer disease and acquisition of HIV infection in homosexual men. JAMA. 1988 Sep 9;260(10):1429–1433. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Swanson J. M., Chenitz W. C. Psychosocial aspects of genital herpes: a review of the literature. Public Health Nurs. 1990 Jun;7(2):96–104. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1990.tb00618.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Wald A., Langenberg A. G., Link K., Izu A. E., Ashley R., Warren T., Tyring S., Douglas J. M., Jr, Corey L. Effect of condoms on reducing the transmission of herpes simplex virus type 2 from men to women. JAMA. 2001 Jun 27;285(24):3100–3106. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.24.3100. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wald Anna, Ashley-Morrow Rhoda. Serological testing for herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and HSV-2 infection. Clin Infect Dis. 2002 Oct 15;35(Suppl 2):S173–S182. doi: 10.1086/342104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wald Anna, Link Katherine. Risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection in herpes simplex virus type 2-seropositive persons: a meta-analysis. J Infect Dis. 2001 Dec 14;185(1):45–52. doi: 10.1086/338231. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wild D., Patrick D., Johnson E., Berzon R., Wald A. Measuring health-related quality of life in persons with genital herpes. Qual Life Res. 1995 Dec;4(6):532–539. doi: 10.1007/BF00634748. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wilkinson D., Barton S., Chard S., Meadows J. The psychological consequences in patient undergoing a POCKit HSV-2 test. Int J STD AIDS. 2000 Aug;11(8):551–552. doi: 10.1258/0956462001916317. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Sexually Transmitted Infections are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES