Genital herpes simplex virus infection in females in Ibadan Nigeria.

In a study of female patients attending the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinic of the University College Hospital Ibadan, Nigeria, Herpes simplex virus was isolated from the cervix of 5 of 117 patients, a prevalence rate of 4.3%. Two (1.7%) of these patients had HSV in the vagina. The viruses were identified by culture in HEp-2 cell line, chloroform sensitivity test, complement fixation test and indirect immuno-fluorescent antibody technique. Only one (20%) of the five patients has HSV-1 in the endocervix.