Changes in Prevalence of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and 2 Antibodies from 1973 to 1993 in the Rural Districts of Japan

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Abstract
Using the gG‐capture ELISA, changes in the seroprevalence of HSV‐1 and HSV‐2 from 1973 to 1993 were studied for 614 sera collected from general adults living in rural Japan. The HSV‐1 seroprevalence for men and women decreased from 75.3 and 80.6% in 1973 to 54.4 and 59.6%, respectively, in 1993. The HSV‐2 seroprevalence also decreased from 10.2 and 9.9% in 1973 to 1.8 and 1.2%, respectively, in 1993. Although the decrease in HSV‐2 prevalence seemed to be correlated with the general decrease of sexually transmitted diseases in Japan since the 1950s, these findings should not be interpreted as typical, as HSV‐2 infections are particularly known to distribute unevenly among populations, according to sexual activity and cohorts.