Prevalence of type-specific antibody against type 1 and type 2 herpes simplex virus in women with abnormal cervical cytology: evidence towards pre-pubertal vaccination of sero-negative female subjects.

Patients with abnormal cervical cytology demonstrated a higher prevalence of type-specific complement-fixing antibody to type 2 herpes simplex virus than patients with negative cervical cytology and patients with carcinoma of other body sites. Case-control differences were apparent irrespective of age, socio-economic class and marital status. By contrast, case groups demonstrated a lower prevalence of subjects with type 1 specific antibody. This raises the possibility that pre-adolescent exposure to type 1 herpes simplex virus may offer some measure of protection against pre-malignant and malignant cervical pathology.