The prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 infection in Iran: A meta-analysis

Seroepidemiologic studies indicate a high prevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. This infection leads to ophthalmic, dermatologic, oral, neurologic, vaginal and cervical problems. Different studies have been carried out to estimate the HSV seroprevalence in Iran. Combining the results of these studies would be useful for health policy-making.

This study aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of HSV infection using meta-analysis.

Using relevant keywords, national and international data banks were searched. Restricting the search strategy, excluding duplicates and investigating the titles and abstracts, relevant articles were identified. To increase the search sensitivity, the lists of references were investigated. To find un-published studies, specialized experts as well as research centers were interviewed. The heterogeneity between the results was assessed using Cochrane test and I-squared indicator. The pooled prevalence of HSV infection was estimated using random effects model.

We recruited 33 eligible papers investigated 7762 individuals. The total prevalences (95% confidence intervals) of HSV1, HSV2 and HSV infections were estimated as of 42.04% (20.9-63.1), 6.5% (4.7-8.2) and 25.7% (8.8-42.5) respectively.

This meta-analysis showed that the HSV2 seroprevalence among Iranian people is considerably lower than HSV1 infection.