seroepidemiology of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 in northern iran

background: herpes simplex virus (hsv) type 1 and 2 are common infectious agents worldwide. data on prevalence of hsv-1 and hsv-2 infection are limited in asia, especially in iran. the aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of hsv type 1 and 2 based on age, gender, marital status, education, living area, job, symptoms and history of disease variables. methods: the study population included 800 randomly selected persons from laboratories in gilan province, iran, from 2010 to 2011. demographic data gathered by a well-designed questionnaire and for serological studies, blood samples were collected and centrifuged. elisa hsv-1, 2 and hsv-2 specific elisa kits were used to determine igg type specific antibodies in sera samples. person's chi-square test was applied to compare hsv-1 and hsv-2 seropositivities. results: hsv-1 and hsv-2 igg antibodies were positive in 467 (58.4%) and 28 (3.5%) subjects, respectively. there was significant correlation between age, marital status, job, symptoms, history of disease and hsv seroprevalence (p<0.05). conclusion: our findings were in agreement with prior studies in which hsv-1 infections was more prevalent than hsv-2 and seropositivity increased with age.