Effect of Condom Use on Per-act HSV-2 Transmission Risk in HIV-1, HSV-2-discordant Couples

Amalia S Magaret; Andrew Mujugira; James P Hughes; Jairam Lingappa; Elizabeth A Bukusi; Guy DeBruyn; Sinead Delany-Moretlwe; Kenneth H Fife; Glenda E Gray; Saidi Kapiga; Etienne Karita; Nelly R Mugo; Helen Rees; Allan Ronald; Bellington Vwalika; Edwin Were; Connie Celum; Anna Wald; Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study Team

doi:10.1093/cid/civ908

Effect of Condom Use on Per-act HSV-2 Transmission Risk in HIV-1, HSV-2-discordant Couples

Clin Infect Dis. 2016 Feb 15;62(4):456-61. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ908. Epub 2015 Nov 17.

Authors

Amalia S Magaret¹, Andrew Mujugira², James P Hughes³, Jairam Lingappa⁴, Elizabeth A Bukusi⁵, Guy DeBruyn⁶, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe⁷, Kenneth H Fife⁸, Glenda E Gray⁹, Saidi Kapiga¹⁰, Etienne Karita¹¹, Nelly R Mugo⁵, Helen Rees⁷, Allan Ronald¹², Bellington Vwalika¹³, Edwin Were¹⁴, Connie Celum¹⁵, Anna Wald¹⁶; Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study Team

Collaborators

Partners in Prevention HSV/HIV Transmission Study Team:
Connie Celum, Anna Wald, Jairam Lingappa, Jared M Baeten, Mary Campbell, Lawrence Corey, Robert W Coombs, James P Hughes, Amalia Magaret, M Juliana McElrath, Rhoda Morrow, James I Mullins, David Coetzee, Kenneth Fife, Edwin Were, Max Essex, Joseph Makhema, Elly Katabira, Allan Ronald, Susan Allen, Kayitesi Kayitenkore, Etienne Karita, Elizabeth Bukusi, Craig Cohen, Susan Allen, William Kanweka, Susan Allen, Bellington Vwalika, Saidi Kapiga, Rachel Manongi, Carey Farquhar, Grace John-Stewart, James Kiarie, Susan Allen, Mubiana Inambao, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Helen Rees, Guy de Bruyn, Glenda Gray, James McIntyre, Nelly Rwamba Mugo

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine Department of Biostatistics Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
² Department of Global Health Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington.
³ Department of Biostatistics Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
⁴ Department of Global Health Department of Pediatrics Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
⁵ Center for Microbiology Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Nairobi.
⁶ Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, Pennsylvania.
⁷ Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁸ Department of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis.
⁹ Perinatal HIV Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁰ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
¹¹ Rwanda-Zambia HIV Research Group, Kigali, Rwanda, Lusaka, Zambia.
¹² Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada Infectious Disease Institute, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
¹³ Rwanda-Zambia HIV Research Group, Kigali, Rwanda, Lusaka, Zambia Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Zambia, School of Medicine, Lusaka.
¹⁴ Department of Reproductive Health, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya.
¹⁵ Department of Global Health Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
¹⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.

Abstract

Background: The efficacy of condoms for protection against transmission of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) has been examined in a variety of populations with different effect measures. Often the efficacy has been assessed as change in hazard of transmission with consistent vs inconsistent use, independent of the number of acts. Condom efficacy has not previously measured on a per-act basis.

Methods: We examined the per-act HSV-2 transmission rates with and without condom use among 911 African HSV-2 and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) serodiscordant couples followed for an average of 18 months in an HIV prevention study. Infectivity models were used to associate the log10 probability of HSV-2 transmission over monthly risk periods with reported numbers of protected and unprotected sex acts. Condom efficacy was computed as the proportionate reduction in transmission risk for protected relative to unprotected sex acts.

Results: Transmission of HSV-2 occurred in 68 couples, including 17 with susceptible women and 51 with susceptible men. The highest rate of transmission was from men to women: 28.5 transmissions per 1000 unprotected sex acts. We found that condoms were differentially protective against HSV-2 transmission by sex; condom use reduced per-act risk of transmission from men to women by 96% (P < .001) and marginally from women to men by 65% (P = .060).

Conclusions: Condoms are recommended as an effective preventive method for heterosexual transmission of HSV-2.

Keywords: HIV; HSV-2; condom; efficacy; transmission.

Publication types

Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Condoms*
Disease Transmission, Infectious / prevention & control*
Family Characteristics
Female
HIV Infections / complications*
Herpes Genitalis / prevention & control*
Herpes Genitalis / transmission*
Herpesvirus 2, Human / isolation & purification*
Humans
Infection Control / methods*
Male
Risk Assessment

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding