{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T18:05:29Z","timestamp":1790273129784,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"BMJ","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790208000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004252","name":"Qatar University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["QUCG-CAS-23\/24-114"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QUCG-CAS-23\/24-114"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004252","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004252","name":"Qatar University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["QUST-1-CHS-2025-254"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QUST-1-CHS-2025-254"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004252","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008982","name":"Qatar National Research Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NPRP13S-0128-200185"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NPRP13S-0128-200185"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008982","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008982","name":"Qatar National Research Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UREP30-041-3-014"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UREP30-041-3-014"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008982","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council","award":["ARG01-0524-230321"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ARG01-0524-230321"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100019460","name":"Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["Junior Faculty Transition to Independence Program"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Junior Faculty Transition to Independence Program"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100019460","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Sex Transm Infect"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Epidemiological data on herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) infections remain limited in the Middle East and North Africa. This study estimated HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalence in the urban population of Qatar and examined associations with demographic characteristics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A retrospective population-based cross-sectional study was conducted using archived serum specimens from a representative SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey undertaken in 2020 with a probability-based stratified sampling design. HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG antibodies were measured using Mindray CL-900i chemiluminescence immunoassays. Associations were evaluated using logistic regression.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among 2002 archived specimens with sufficient volume, 2001 were tested for HSV-1 and 1981 for HSV-2. After excluding equivocal results, HSV-1 seroprevalence was 40.4% (789\/1955; 95% CI 38.2% to 42.6%) and HSV-2 seroprevalence was 5.0% (99\/1974; 95% CI 4.1% to 6.1%). HSV-1 seroprevalence increased from 16.4% (95% CI 12.8% to 20.6%) among those aged 10\u201319 years to approximately 50% among older age groups. HSV-2 seroprevalence increased steadily from 0.5% (95% CI 0.1% to 1.9%) among those aged 10\u201319 years to 13.2% (95% CI 7.8% to 20.6%) among those aged \u226560 years. No differences in HSV seroprevalence were observed between sexes. Some nationality differences were observed for HSV-1, with lower seroprevalence among individuals of Indian nationality, while HSV-2 showed small differences across nationalities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalence in the urban population of Qatar were lower than regional and global estimates. Distinct age-specific patterns were observed, with early-life acquisition of HSV-1 and a gradual increase in HSV-2 seroprevalence across adulthood.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/sextrans-2026-057048","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T17:20:26Z","timestamp":1790270426000},"page":"sextrans-2026-057048","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Seroprevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in the urban population of Qatar: a population-based study"],"prefix":"10.1136","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9252-1038","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gheyath K","family":"Nasrallah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1263-6175","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farah","family":"Issa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9695-1422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Parveen B","family":"Nizamuddin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3104-5781","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farah","family":"Trad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-1566-6153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamda A","family":"Qotba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"My Doctor Medical Center, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3820-7157","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nouran","family":"Zein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5241-944X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nadin","family":"Younes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"},{"name":"Biomedical Research Center, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0102-8155","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahmed","family":"Ismail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory Section, Medical Commission Department, Ministry of Public Health Qatar, Doha, Qatar"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2512-6657","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Houssein H","family":"Ayoub","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mathematics Program, Department of Mathematics and 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