Herpes Simplex Type I Infection and Atopy Association in Turkish Children with Asthma and Allergic Rhinitis

This study investigated the association between hsv-1 infection and atopy by comparing seropositivity to hsv-1 in atopic children with asthma and allergic rhinitis and in non-atopic children. totally 249 children randomly selected from the university outpatient pediatric clinics were prospectively enrolled in the study between september 1 and november 30, 2007. serum samples were examined using the virus neutralization test (vnt) for hsv-1 immunoglobulin g(igg) seropositivity. skin prick tests (spts) were performed to determine atopic status. the results showed that hsv-1 igg seropositivity was significantly higher in atopic children (56.8%) with asthma and allergic rhinitis than in the age-matched non-atopic children group (30.4%) (p<0.001). although the occurrence of atopy was higher in seropositive girls (57%) than in seropositive boys (47%), the difference was not significant(p=0.329). these results support a possible relationship between the atopic status of children withasthma and allergic rhinitis and hsv-1 infection.