Prevalence of HSV1 and HSV2 among HIV Patients in Northern South Africa as Determined by Real Time PCR in Urine Samples

The present study determined the prevalence of HSV-1 and 2 among HIV patients in Northern South Africa and identified potential risk factors. Urine samples were collected from patients attending different HIV clinics in Limpopo Province. Total genomic DNA was isolated from these samples using GenElute Blood Genomic DNA Kit and real time PCR protocols were used for the detection of HSV1 and HSV2. Demographic, clinical and socioeconomic data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The overall prevalence of HSV1 was 48.5% while that of HSV2 was 10.8% from a total of 308 samples. The prevalence of HSV1 was higher among females while that of HSV2 did not vary between males and females. Patients on zidovudine had a much lower prevalence. Patients who had TB (χ² = 9.128; p = 0.003), seemed to have a much higher susceptibility to HSV-1.However, this was not the case with HSV2. CD4 count and viral load did not seem to have any impact of the occurrence of HSV among these patients. Urine samples appear to be a useful alternative for the detection of the HSV. Generally, history of TB, usage of certain ARVs and early age of sexual debut appeared to be important risk factors for HSV.