The prevalence of Herpes simplex virus type-2 infection in blood donors in Harare, Zimbabwe.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of HSV-2 infections in a population of blood donors. DESIGN Cross sectional study. SETTING Harare Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) Centre. SUBJECTS 314 serum specimens of voluntary blood donors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES HSV-2 sero-prevalence. RESULTS The median age (Q1, Q3) of the blood donors was 18 (17,27) years and 65% of them were males. HSV-2 infection was detected in 29 (9.7%) of the 299 specimens that were analyzed. There was a strong association between age of blood donors and HSV-2 seropositivity (p < 0.001). Older blood donors tended to be positive while younger donors tended to be negative for HSV-2 antibodies. Though not as strong, there was also an association between HSV-2 and HIV seropositivity (p = 0.048). CONCLUSION The prevalence of HSV-2 infections in blood donors in Harare is high, considering the nature of the population studied. Therefore, the testing for HSV-2 in the serum of prospective blood donors should be included in the screening profiles used at the BTS centre in Harare, Zimbabwe to improve blood and blood products.