eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2024-12-30 17 4 2231 2237 10.13005/bpj/3019 63275 article Ahmed Subeh Alshrari1 1 Shuaibu Abdullahi Hudu 2 Abdulgafar Olayiwola Jimoh 4 Bahaa Mohammed Badr 5 Medical Laboratory Technology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia Department of Basic and Clinical Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Zarqa University, Zarqa, Jordans Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt. Genital herpes caused by herpes simplex virus infection type 2 (HSV-2) is one of the most common STDs that causes a substantial illness burden globally, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was aimed at determining the seroprevalence rate of HSV-2 in patients who presented at a Sokoto speciality hospital with fever. We collected 184 blood samples from consenting patients and used an ELISA to analyze them for HSV-2 antibodies. Sociodemographic and clinical data were also obtained from the patients via questionnaires before sample collection. The study found HSV-2 seroprevalence to be 54.3% (100 out of 184 patients). All patients aged 43-47 years (100%, 6 out of 6) tested positive for HSV-2 antibodies, while only two patients over the age of 53 tested positive (p = 0.729). The prevalence was higher among males (67.7%, 42 out of 62) compared to females (47.5%, 55 out of 122) (p = 0.066), and higher in single individuals (63.9%, 46 out of 72) than in married individuals (48.2%, 54 out of 112) (p = 0.141). Regarding occupational status, the highest prevalence was observed among employed patients (68.2%, 30 out of 44), followed by self-employed individuals (55.1%, 54 out of 98). More than half of the patients were infected with HSV-2, indicating a need for further studies to identify the risk factors associated with acquiring the virus. Increasing awareness about transmission routes and the potential consequences of HSV-2 infection is also crucial. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol17no4/prevalence-of-genital-herpes-insights-from-outpatient-clinic-patients/ Herpes HSV-2 Sero-prevalence Sexually transmitted infections Sub-Saharan Africa