Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Women
As described for HPV, a history of sexual intercourse with an uncircumcised man (ever) was reported in 2003 to be a risk factor for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection in women [Cherpes et al., 2003]. After multivariate logistic regression analysis, odds ratio was 2.2 (95% CI 1.4-3.6) [Cherpes et al., 2003]. This study was conducted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania amongst 1,207 women aged 18-30 years whose overall HSV-2 seroprevalence rate was 25%.
A study in Uganda found no difference, however, although most women had been infected with HSV-2 prior to commencement of the trial in which half the men had been randomized to receive circumcision and the other half had not, meaning that HSV-2 detected in swabs from these women represented mostly reactivation of an existing infection [Brankin et al., 2009].
