INCIDENCE OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS KERATITIS AND OTHER OCULAR DISEASE: GLOBAL REVIEW AND ESTIMATES.

PURPOSE We aimed to review available data on the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis and other HSV ocular disease and to estimate the global burden of HSV ocular disease. METHODS We searched Medline and Embase databases to October 2020 for studies reporting on the incidence of HSV ocular disease. Study quality was evaluated using a four-point checklist. Pooled estimates were applied to 2016 population data to estimate global HSV ocular disease burden. Numbers with uniocular vision impairment (any visual acuity 0.1 million cases. Based on global incidence, some 230,000 people may have newly acquired uniocular vision impairment associated with HSV keratitis in 2016. CONCLUSION Over 1.8 million people may have herpetic eye disease annually. Preventing HSV infection could therefore have an important impact on eye health. Herpetic eye disease burden is likely to have been underestimated, as many settings outside of the USA and Europe have higher HSV-1 prevalence and poorer access to treatment.