NCHS Data Briefs Update

NCHS Data Briefs Update

Data Brief, No. 304. Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Type 2 in Persons Aged 14–49: United States, 2015–2016.

This data brief provides recent national estimates of HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibody prevalence from the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) among persons aged 14–49 by age, sex, and race and Hispanic origin, and examines trends in prevalence by race and Hispanic origin from 1999–2000 to 2015–2016. During 2015–2016, the prevalence of HSV-1 was 47.8% and of HSV-2 was 11.9% among those aged 14–49. Prevalence of both viruses was higher among females than males and increased linearly with age. Differences by race and Hispanic origin were different for the two viruses, with Mexican-American persons having the highest prevalence of HSV-1 (71.7%) and non-Hispanic black persons having the highest prevalence of HSV-2 (34.6%). From 1999 through 2016, there was a significant decline in the age-standardized prevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2. For both virus types, a decrease in prevalence over time was seen in all race and Hispanic-origin subpopulations. Data from the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used for this analysis.

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