Vaginal and Penile Microbiome Associations With Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in Women and Their Male Sex Partners

Abstract

We demonstrate that penile taxa are associated with HSV-2 in female partners, and vaginal taxa are associated with HSV-2 in male partners. Our findings suggest that couples-level joint consideration of genital microbiome and sexually transmitted infection or related outcomes could lead to new avenues for prevention.