{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T01:39:34Z","timestamp":1791164374494,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]],"date-time":"2024-02-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1707264000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) are one of the most widespread causes of human viral infections. In Croatia, only two published studies have analyzed the seroprevalence of HSV infections in childbearing-aged and pregnant women (2005\u20132010), while more recent data are lacking. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence and risk factors for HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections among pregnant women in Croatia in the period from 2011 to 2021. Materials and Methods: This study included 667 pregnant women aged 16\u201345 years submitted for HSV-1 and HSV-2 serology testing. Serum samples were initially screened for HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies using a commercial ELISA test with a confirmation of HSV-2-positive samples using an immunoblot assay. Results: The overall IgG seroprevalence rates were 69.9% for HSV-1 and 3.8% for HSV-2. A significant gradual increase in the HSV-2 seroprevalence with age was observed from 0.5% in participants under 30 years to 8.3% in participants above 40 years. The HSV-1 seroprevalence was stable up to 40 years (70.0 and 68.3%, respectively), with an increase to 86.1%, but this difference did not reach statistical significance. Area of residence (urban or suburban\/rural), geographic region (continental or coastal), and obstetric history (normal pregnancy or unfavorable obstetric history) were not associated with HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalence. Older age was found to be a significant risk factor for HSV-2 seropositivity in both univariate and multivariate risk analysis. Conclusions: HSV-1 infection is widely prevalent among pregnant women with a stable trend over time. However, a declining trend in the HSV-2 seroprevalence was observed compared to 2005\u20132010. Serological screening in pregnant women is important in identifying seronegative women who are susceptible to HSV infection as well as seropositive women who are at risk for genital herpes recurrence during delivery.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60020284","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]],"date-time":"2024-02-07T06:12:58Z","timestamp":1707286378000},"page":"284","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Seroepidemiology of Herpes Simplex Viruses Type 1 and 2 in Pregnant Women in Croatia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"60","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1877-5547","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatjana","family":"Vilibic-Cavlek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0552-8264","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marko","family":"Belamaric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Teaching Institute for Emergency Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4917-9270","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Ferenc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Merkur, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3263-1769","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dan","family":"Navolan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u2018Victor Babes\u2019 University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0884-4043","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Branko","family":"Kolaric","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Social Medicine and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ljiljana","family":"Milasincic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ljiljana","family":"Antolasic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mateja","family":"Vujica Ferenc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5357-5890","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maja","family":"Vilibic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychiatry, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"School of Medicine, Catholic University of Croatia, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adriana","family":"Lukunic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, University of Applied Health Sciences, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maja","family":"Bogdanic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses: ICTV (2023, December 28). 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