High silent prevalence of human herpesvirus 1 (HSV-1) infection affecting the indigenous reservation of the municipality of Dourados, Central-West Brazil

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 700 - 14
• Main Authors: de Oliveira Bonfim, Flávia Freitas, Villar, Livia Melo, Croda, Julio, Pereira, Jéssica Gonçalves, Guimarães, Ana Carolina Silva, da Silva, Solange Rodrigues, Maymone Gonçalves, Crhistinne Cavalheiro, Leonardo, Lucas Fernando Tinoco, de Rezende Romeira, Grazielli Rocha, Cesar, Gabriela Alves, Weis-Torres, Sabrina, de Oliveira Landgraf de Castro, Vivianne, Horta, Marco Aurélio, Simionatto, Simone, Motta-Castro, Ana Rita Coimbra, de Paula, Vanessa Salete
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 17-07-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Access control; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Asymptomatic; Brazil; Brazil - epidemiology; Care and treatment; Child; Communicable diseases; Complications and side effects; Consent; Cross-Sectional Studies; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developing countries; Disease transmission; Diseases; DNA; Encephalitis; Epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; Health policy; Herpes; Herpes Simplex - epidemiology; Herpes Simplex - virology; Herpes viruses; Herpesvirus 1, Human - genetics; Herpesvirus 1, Human - immunology; Herpesvirus diseases; HIV; Human alphaherpesvirus 1; Human herpes virus 1; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Indians, South American - statistics & numerical data; Indigenous; Indigenous peoples; Indigent care; Infants (Newborn); Infections; Infectious diseases; Keratitis; LDCs; Male; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Native peoples; Neonates; Pathogens; Polymerase chain reaction; Population; Population number; Populations; Prevalence; Professional ethics; Psychological aspects; Public health; Questionnaires; Real time; Risk factors; Sample size; Serology; Sexual behavior; Sexually transmitted diseases; Social aspects; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; STD; Ulcers; Viral Load; Young Adult; Brazil; Brazil; Human herpes virus 1; Human alphaherpesvirus 1; Indigenous; Epidemiology
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09497-5

The indigenous population located in the central region of Brazil, is the second largest in terms of population size in the country. The Indigenous Reserve of Dourados has risk factors that increase the vulnerability of the indigenous population to infectious diseases, especially Human alphaherpesvirus (HSV-1), a neglected disease with high prevalence in priority populations in developing countries. The virus can also cause many more severe diseases, including widespread neonatal infections, herpetic keratitis, and herpes encephalitis, which can be fatal if left untreated. We estimated the prevalence of anti-HSV-1 antibodies and correlated it with the demographic and behavioral characteristics of the Indigenous population of the Jaguapirú and Bororó villages (Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil).
Our approach was cross-sectional. From March 2017 to November 2018. Using anti-HSV-1 (Gg1) IgM and anti-HSV-1 (gG1) IgG Euroimmun and the detection and quantification of HSV-1 viral load in plasma samples, through real-time PCR. The maps were constructed using QGIS and the statistical analyses using R Studio software.
A total of 1138 individuals (> 18 years old) were enrolled. The prevalence of anti-HSV-1 IgM and IgG were 20% and 97.5%, respectively. The prevalence of anti-HSV-1 antibodies for IgG was higher in both sexes. Anti-HSV-1 IgM antibodies were present in 17.1%, 21.2%, 12.5%, and 22% of the participants with urinary problems, genital wounds, genital warts, and urethral discharge, respectively. Real-time PCR was used for confirmatory testing; HSV-1 DNA was detected in 25.6% (54/211) of anti-HSV1 IgM-positive samples. Viral loads ranged from 5.99E + 02 to 3.36E + 13.
The seroprevalence of HSV-1 IgM and detection of HSV-1 DNA in the Indigenous population confirmed high silent prevalence. Furthermore, the seroprevalence of HSV-1 in the Indigenous population was higher than that reported in the general adult Brazilian population. Various socioeconomic factors, drug use, and health and sexual behaviors could contribute to the facilitation of HSV-1 transmission in the Indigenous population. Our results may help develop culturally appropriate intervention programs that eliminate health access barriers and improve the implementation of public health policies aimed at promoting information regarding the prevention, treatment, and control of HSV-1 infection in Brazilian Indigenous populations.