Pooled mean estimates for HSV-2 seroprevalence among the general population in Latin America and the Caribbean
| Population classification | Outcome measures | Sample size | HSV-2 seroprevalence (%) | Pooled mean HSV-2 seroprevalence | Heterogeneity measures | |||
| Total N | Total N | Range | Median | Mean (%) (95% CI) | Q* (P value) | I²† (%) (95% CI) | Prediction interval‡ (%) | |
| Countries | ||||||||
| Brazil | 79 | 22 671 | 0.0–71.4 | 28.0 | 25.5 (22.2 to 28.9) | 2049.9 (<0.001) | 96.2 (95.7 to 96.6) | 3.8–56.9 |
| Colombia | 14 | 1633 | 1.7–67.3 | 37.7 | 35.9 (23.9 to 48.7) | 351.6 (<0.001) | 96.3 (95.0 to 97.3) | 0.5–86.6 |
| Costa Rica | 11 | 1800 | 17.7–58.8 | 44.6 | 41.7 (34.2 to 49.4) | 108.8 (<0.001) | 90.8 (85.6 to 94.1) | 15.7–70.4 |
| Mexico | 53 | 19 574 | 0.0–45.0 | 10.9 | 13.4 (10.8 to 16.2) | 1392.9 (<0.001) | 96.3 (95.7 to 96.8) | 0.6–37.1 |
| Peru | 65 | 6896 | 0.0–38.0 | 9.0 | 11.7 (9.5 to 14.1) | 500.3 (<0.001) | 87.2 (84.4 to 89.5) | 0.0–33.1 |
| Other countries§ | 14 | 3883 | 11.8–65.0 | 39.6 | 41.2 (32.6 to 50.1) | 378.4 (<0.001) | 96.6 (95.4 to 97.4) | 10.0–77.0 |
| Subregions | ||||||||
| Central America | 68 | 22 688 | 0.0–59.9 | 14.9 | 18.4 (15.1 to 21.9) | 2694.7 (<0.001) | 97.5 (97.2 to 97.8) | 0.5–51.4 |
| South America | 164 | 32 590 | 0.0–71.4 | 21.3 | 21.1 (18.8 to 23.4) | 3632.7 (<0.001) | 95.5 (95.1 to 95.9) | 1.5–53.3 |
| Caribbean | 4 | 1179 | 30.5–54.0 | 37.2 | 38.7 (29.9 to 47.9) | 20.9 (0.001) | 85.7 (64.9 to 94.2) | 5.9–79.0 |
| Age group | ||||||||
| <20 years | 28 | 5194 | 0.0–29.0 | 9.0 | 9.6 (7.1 to 12.4) | 229.1 (<0.001) | 88.2 (84.1 to 91.2) | 0.5–26.4 |
| 20–30 years | 30 | 4453 | 0.0–47.4 | 20.8 | 17.9 (13.6 to 22.5) | 379.7 (<0.001) | 92.4 (90.2 to 94.1) | 1.1–46.4 |
| 30–40 years | 17 | 1983 | 9.6–56.0 | 28.3 | 27.6 (21.4 to 34.2) | 157.2 (<0.001) | 89.8 (95.3 to 93.1) | 5.6–57.8 |
| >40 years | 34 | 5029 | 10.9–71.4 | 40.3 | 38.4 (32.8 to 44.2) | 561.6 (<0.001) | 94.1 (92.7 to 95.3) | 10.0–72.0 |
| Mixed | 127 | 39 798 | 0.0–67.3 | 17.0 | 18.7 (16.4 to 21.2) | 4188.3 (<0.001) | 997.0 (96.7 to 97.3) | 0.9–49.5 |
| Year of publication category | ||||||||
| <2000 | 21 | 2901 | 5.0–67.3 | 36.0 | 34.1 (26.2 to 42.5) | 406.4 (<0.001) | 95.1 (93.6 to 96.2) | 4.0–74.2 |
| 2000–2010 | 132 | 28 618 | 0.0–71.4 | 23.1 | 22.8 (20.3 to 25.5) | 3336.4 (<0.001) | 96.1 (95.7 to 96.4) | 2.1–55.6 |
| >2010 | 83 | 24 938 | 0.0–65.0 | 10.9 | 14.3 (12.1 to 16.8) | 1812.0 (<0.001) | 94.9 (94.9 to 96.0) | 0.7–39.1 |
| Year of data collection category | ||||||||
| <2000 | 83 | 9229 | 0.0–71.4 | 30.8 | 31.1 (27.4 to 34.9) | 1173.1 (<0.001) | 93.0 (91.9 to 94.0) | 5.3–65.7 |
| 2000–2010 | 143 | 33 565 | 0.0–59.9 | 12.0 | 15.0 (13.1 to 17.1) | 3450.4 (<0.001) | 95.9 (95.5 to 96.3) | 0.3–43.4 |
| >2010 | 12 | 13 835 | 10.4–65.0 | 29.3 | 30.7 (24.5 to 38.4) | 649.0 (<0.001) | 98.3 (97.8 to 98.7) | 6.9–61.9 |
| All studies | 238 | 56 628 | 0.0–71.4 | 20.0 | 20.8 (19.0 to 22.8) | 6630.7 (<0.001) | 96.4 (96.2 to 96.7) | 1.4–53.1 |
*Q: the Cochran’s Q statistic is a measure assessing the existence of heterogeneity in seroprevalence.
†I2: a measure that assesses the magnitude of between-study variation that is due to actual differences in seroprevalence across studies rather than chance.
‡Prediction interval: a measure that estimates the distribution (95% interval) of true seroprevalence around the estimated mean.
§Other countries include Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras and Panama.
HSV-2, herpes simplex virus type 2.