A Seroepidemiological Study of Herpes Simplex Virus

Neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies against herpes simplex virus in sera of 466 persons covering various age groups collected in 1969 were first examined. The general pattern of distribution of neutralizing antibody among children and adults older than 30 years was similar to that previously reported by Yoshino et al. (1962) with sera collected in 1959 to 1960. A significant difference from the earlier survey was that the age group of 20 to 30 years showed various levels of neutralizing antibody in contrast to the earlier data in which a similar antibody distribution was seen between 10 and 20 years. The quantitative relation between neutralizing and complement-fixing antibodies of the above age group also resembled that of younger age groups. Further confirmation of this change was made with additional 51 serum samples collected in 1973 from adults aged between 20 and 30 years. Comparison of the present data with the earlier survey was justified by demonstrating that the methods used for detection of neutralizing antibody were almost equal in sensitivity. These results suggest that primary and repeated infections before the age of 30 years are more frequent than before and it is only after this age that persistent infection is established in the majority of population.