Open AccessHerpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Acquisition During Recent HIV Infection Does Not Influence Plasma HIV Levels
Author(s) -
Edward R. Cachay,
Simon D. W. Frost,
Art F. Y. Poon,
David J. Looney,
Sherry M Rostami,
Mary E. Pacold,
Douglas D. Richman,
Susan J. Little,
Davey M. Smith
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.162
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1944-7884
pISSN - 1525-4135
DOI - 10.1097/qai.0b013e318163bd87
Subject(s) - asymptomatic , herpes simplex virus , seroconversion , virology , medicine , cohort , viral load , incidence (geometry) , viral disease , immunology , virus , physics , optics
We assessed the effect of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) acquisition on the plasma HIV RNA and CD4 cell levels among individuals with primary HIV infection using a retrospective cohort analysis. We studied 119 adult, antiretroviral-naive, recently HIV-infected men with a negative HSV-2-specific enzyme immunoassay (EIA) result at enrollment. HSV-2 acquisition was determined by seroconversion on HSV-2 EIA, confirmed by Western blot analysis. Ten men acquired HSV-2 infection a median of 1.3 years after HIV infection (HSV-2 incidence rate of 7.4 per 100 person-years of follow-up). The median time of follow-up after acquiring HSV-2 infection was 303 days. All men except 1 were asymptomatic during HSV-2 acquisition, and only 1 HSV-2 seroconverter, who was asymptomatic, had a transient increase in blood HIV load (0.5 log10 copies/mL over 11 days). The HSV-2 incidence rate was high in our cohort of recently HIV-infected individuals; however, HSV-2 acquisition did not significantly change the plasma HIV dynamics and CD4 cell levels.