Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients presenting with suspected genital herpes, stratified by ethnic group*
| Black Caribbean | White | Black African | p Value† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No (%) | No (%) | No (%) | ||
| *The four patients with ethnicities other than black Caribbean, white, or black African were excluded. | ||||
| †p Value obtained from χ2, Fisher’s exact, or Mann-Whitney U tests, as appropriate. | ||||
| Number | 76 | 65 | 41 | |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 41 (54) | 35 (54) | 24 (59) | |
| Female | 35 (46) | 30 (46) | 17 (42) | 0.87 |
| Sexual orientation | ||||
| Heterosexual | 76 (100) | 56 (86) | 41 (100) | |
| Homosexual | 0 (–) | 9 (14) | 0 (–) | 0.0002 |
| Age | ||||
| Median | 28 | 29 | 33 | 0.03 |
| Range | 16–57 | 17–61 | 18–67 | |
| Disease | ||||
| First episode | 51 (67) | 38 (59) | 22 (54) | |
| Recurrent | 25 (33) | 27 (42) | 19 (46) | 0.32 |
| Onset | ||||
| <5 days | 47 (62) | 27 (42) | 19 (46) | |
| ⩾5 days | 29 (38) | 38 (59) | 22 (54) | 0.04 |
| Visible ulceration | 57 (75) | 43 (66) | 32 (78) | 0.34 |
| HIV status | ||||
| Negative | 30 (39) | 34 (52) | 18 (44) | |
| Positive | 6 (8) | 4 (6) | 9 (22) | |
| Declined testing | 40 (53) | 27 (42) | 14 (34) | 0.03 |