Author(s)

Henri Gautier Ouédraogo^1*, Dinanibè Kambiré¹, Tani Sagna¹, Tegwinde Rebeca Compaore¹, Oumarou Ouédraogo¹, Abdou Azaque Zouré¹, Serge Théophile Soubeiga¹, Sylvie Zida¹, Danielle Belemsaga/Yugbaré¹, Samadoulougou Benoît Cesaire², Odette Ky-Zerbo¹, Yves Traoré³, Nicolas Barro³, Seni Kouanda¹

¹Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique (CNRST), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
²Sécrétariat Permanent du Conseil National de Lutte contre le Sida et les Infections Sexuellement Transmissibles (SP/CNLS-IST), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
³Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (UFR-SDS), Université Joseph Ki Zerbo, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Background: Herpes Simplex Virus type-2 (HSV-2) infection is one of the most common worldwide sexually transmitted and female sex workers are most at risk for these infections. Beside HSV-2, Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is one of these infections with a high risk of sexual transmission. HTLV-1 causes T-cell leukaemia and myelopathy. Little is known about the HSV-2, HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections among female sex workers in West Africa in general, and particularly in Burkina Faso. The aim of this study aimed to estimate HSV-2 and HTLV-1/2 seroprevalence among female sex workers, in Ouagadougou in order to inform HIV prevention programs. Methods: Archived sera samples of a biological and behavioral cross-sectional study among female sex workers (FSWs) in Ouagadougou were tested for HSV-2 and HTLV-1/2. Sera samples collected from February to May 2013 were previously tested for HIV and syphilis and stored with participants’ additional consent for further infection testing. Antibodies against HSV-2 and HTLV-1/2 detection tests were performed using Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) methods. Results: HSV-2 seroprevalence was approximately 75.7% (95% CI: 70.8-79.9) among FSWs. It ranged from 69.3% among FSWs under 24 years of age, to 88.5% among those who were at least 30 years old. Furthermore, HSV-2 seroprevalence was high among FSW with no formal education (87.7%) and decreased significantly among those with at least primary education (76.0%) and others with secondary education and above (64.9%). Regarding HTLV-1/2, 11.2% (95% CI: 8.3 - 15.1) of FSWs were positive. By age group, 11.8% were positive among FSWs under 25 years of age; 15.2% among those 25 to 29 years of age, and 5.8% among those over 30 years of age. Conclusion: HSV-2 and HTLV-1&2 infections are common among FSWs, which confirms the need for effective and preventive interventions such as sex education and early screening.

HSV-2, HTLV-1/2, Seroprevalence, Female Sex Workers, FSWs

Ouédraogo, H. , Kambiré, D. , Sagna, T. , Compaore, T. , Ouédraogo, O. , Zouré, A. , Soubeiga, S. , Zida, S. , Belemsaga/Yugbaré, D. , Cesaire, S. , Ky-Zerbo, O. , Traoré, Y. , Barro, N. and Kouanda, S. (2022) Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 (HSV-2) and HTLV-1 & 2 among Female Sex Workers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Open Journal of Medical Microbiology, 12, 56-69. doi: 10.4236/ojmm.2022.122006.