Global HSV Prevalence
Approximately two-thirds of the world's population (64%) is infected with HSV-1, while 13% is infected with HSV-2, meaning roughly 3.75 billion people have HSV-1 and half a billion have HSV-2 infection globally. 1, 2
Detailed Global Burden
HSV-1 Infection
- 3.75 billion people (95% UI: 3.56-3.85 billion) aged 0-49 years were living with HSV-1 infection at any anatomical site in 2016, representing a global prevalence of 66.6% 2
- HSV-1 primarily causes oral infection but is increasingly responsible for genital infections, particularly in well-resourced settings 3
- In 2020, an estimated 376.2 million people (10.2%) aged 15-49 years had prevalent genital HSV-1 infections specifically 4
HSV-2 Infection
- 491.5 million people (95% UI: 430.4-610.6 million) aged 15-49 years were living with HSV-2 infection in 2016, equivalent to 13.2% of the world's population in this age group 2
- Updated 2020 estimates show 519.5 million people (13.3%) aged 15-49 years with prevalent HSV-2 infections 4
- HSV-2 nearly exclusively causes genital disease 3
Regional and Demographic Variations
Geographic Patterns
- HSV-2 prevalence is highest in the WHO African Region, where women face the greatest burden and concurrent HIV exposure risk 2
- Differing patterns exist by age, sex, and geographical region across all WHO areas 2
Sex Differences
- Women have higher HSV-2 prevalence than men across all regions 2
- In the United States specifically, 47.8% and 12.1% of the population aged 14-49 years were seropositive for HSV-1 and HSV-2 respectively in 2015-2016 3
Clinical Recognition Gap
Underdiagnosis Problem
- Most genital herpes infections remain unrecognized - only 13% of HSV-2-seropositive persons in the US had been diagnosed with genital herpes 3
- This massive recognition gap means the vast majority of infected individuals are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit infection 3