Abstract
BackgroundLimited information on epidemiologic patterns of KSHV, with none focusing on heterosexual transmission, is available in mainland China. To clarify this, a cross-sectional study was conducted among a group of female sex workers (FSW) and general population women (GW) in Shanghai, China.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire interview was administrated among 600 FSW and 600 GW. Blood samples were collected and tested for antibodies to KSHV, HSV-2, HIV, syphilis and HBsAg. Correlates of KSHV and HSV-2 were examined using multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsNone of the study participants were tested positive for HIV. The seroprevalence of KSHV, HSV-2 , HBV and syphilis was 10.0%, 52.2%, 12.3% and 10.5%, respectively for FSW, and was 11.0%, 15.3%, 9.8% and 2.8%, respectively for GW. KSHV seropositivity was not associated with syphilis and HSV-2 infection as well as sexual practices among either FSW or GW. Nevertheless, HSV-2 infection among FSW was independently associated with being ever married (OR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.04-2.45), >5 years of prostitution (OR = 2.06; 95%CI: 1.16-3.68) and being syphilis positive (OR = 2.65; 95%CI: 1.43-4.93). HSV-2 infection among GW was independently associated with an age of >35 years (OR = 2.29; 95%CI: 1.07-4.93), having had more than 2 sex partners in the prior 12 months (OR = 6.44; 95%CI: 1.67-24.93) and being syphilis positive (OR = 3.94; 95%CI: 1.38-11.23). A gradual increase of prevalence with the prostitution time group was also detected for HSV-2 and syphilis, but not for KSHV.ConclusionsKSHV is moderately and equivalently prevalent among FSW and GW. Heterosexual contact is not a predominant route for KSHV transmission among Chinese women.
Highlights
Limited information on epidemiologic patterns of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), with none focusing on heterosexual transmission, is available in mainland China
Since an effective KSHV vaccine is not likely to be available in the near future, elucidating the exact transmission routes, especially the possibility of heterosexual transmission of KSHV is imperative for developing effective strategies to control KSHV spreading
Sociodemographic characteristics Among the 600 female sex workers (FSW), 94.7% were of Han ethnicity, 56% aged between 18-25 years, 43.5% were single, 20.2% were illiterate or received primary school education and 58.2% received middle school education, 41.8% were living alone, 64.8% had monthly income between 2001-4000 Yuan Chinese RMB and 18.3% had more than that
Summary
Limited information on epidemiologic patterns of KSHV, with none focusing on heterosexual transmission, is available in mainland China. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a group of female sex workers (FSW) and general population women (GW) in Shanghai, China. A number of epidemiological studies have and incidence of KSHV infection have been found to be associated with the number of sex partners, syphilis infection and hepatitis B infection. The possibility of sexual transmission among heterosexual individuals remained controversial. Since an effective KSHV vaccine is not likely to be available in the near future, elucidating the exact transmission routes, especially the possibility of heterosexual transmission of KSHV is imperative for developing effective strategies to control KSHV spreading
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