Seroprevalence of antibodies to herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 in patients with HIV positive from Ebonyi State, Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Objectives To assess the seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 in patients infected with HIV in Nigeria.Design Cross-sectional design from January to June 2019.Setting Federal Teaching Hospital, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.Participants A total of 276 patients with HIV were analysed using ELISA method for the presence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 specific IgG antibodies.Outcomes Fisher’s exact test was used to determine the association between the seroprevalence of HSV and demographic variables (statistically significant=p value ≤0.05).Results Totally, 212 (76.8%) and 155 (56.2%) patients with HIV were seropositive for HSV-1 and HSV-2 IgG antibodies, respectively. The seroprevalence of HSV-1 was significantly higher than the HSV-2 in patients with HIV (p value <0.0001). HSV-1 and HSV-2 seroprevalence were higher in patients aged more than 30 years. The seroprevalence of HSV-1 was significantly higher (p=0.01) in females (82.4%, 131/159) than males (69.2%, 81/117), but there was no significant difference in seroprevalence of HSV-2 in females (57.9%, 92/159) compared with males (53.8%, 63/117) (p=0.51). Professional drivers had a higher seroprevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 and there was a significant association between the occupation and the HSV-1 and HSV-2 seropositivity (p>0.05). The seroprevalence of HSV-1 was significantly higher in the singles (87.4%, 90/103) than the married patients with HIV (p=0.001). However, HSV-2 seroprevalence was significantly higher in the married patients with HIV (63.6%, 110/173) (p=0.001).Conclusions Prevalence of 76.8% for HSV-1 and 56.2% for HSV-2 among patients with HIV was seen. The HSV-1 was significantly higher in the singles while HSV-2 seroprevalence was significantly higher in the married patients with HIV with HSV-1 and HSV-2 coinfection rate of 7.6%. This study became very imperative to provide an important insight into the hidden dynamics of HSV infections

Important Mycosis of Wildlife: Emphasis on Etiology, Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Pathology—A Review: PART 2

Wild animals are an important component of the ecosystem, and play a major role in it. However, in recent years, there has been an astronomical increase in the incidence of wildlife mycotic diseases leading to wildlife extermination. It is important to note that most of these mycotic diseases are zoonotic, and since there is a lot of attention given to zoonosis of a bacterial or viral origin in recent times, it is important to look into the mycotic diseases which may have zoonotic potential. Previously, the authors expatiated on some major wildlife mycotic diseases. In this review, we shed light on the etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, pathogenesis, pathogenicity, macroscopic and microscopic pathology, and hematological and serum biochemical findings of dermatophytosis, coccidioidomycosis, blastomycosis, and sporotrichosis, which are very important mycoses of wildlife