Faculty Opinions recommendation of Human herpesvirus 8 genomes and seroprevalence in United States blood donors.

A human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a whole virus lysate as antigen was developed and used to measure the seroprevalence rate and levels of IgG antibodies to HHV-8 in sera/plasma of various patient groups and blood donors. The virus antigen was prepared from the KS-1 cell line, which produces lytic virus, and therefore contains a broad array of viral proteins. Seroprevalence studies using this ELISA showed the following: 10 of 91 blood donors (11%) had an average HHV-8 antibody titer of 118; 67 of 72 (93%) classic Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) patients were positive with an average titer of 14,111; and 57 of 62 (92%) KS/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients were positive with an average titer of 4,000. A study on a very limited number of serial serum samples from patients before and after diagnosis with KS showed highly elevated antibody titers to HHV-8 virus after KS lesions developed. Preliminary data show that 50% of the sera from HIV-1+ homosexual patients contain IgG antibodies to HHV-8 suggesting that this population is at high risk for developing KS. Antibody results correlated well with the confirmatory immunofluorescent assays (IFA) using KS-1 cells as the substrate. This HHV-8 IgG antibody detection ELISA is sensitive and specific and does not cross-react with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) or other human herpesviruses. The results of this HHV-8 antibody survey suggest that this rapid ELISA assay can be used to screen large numbers of sera to find those at risk for developing KS.

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Prevalence of human herpesvirus-8 among HIV-infected patients, intravenous drug users and the general population in Iran

Sexual Health ◽

10.1071/sh15192 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 295 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Rezvan Kakavand-Ghalehnoei ◽

Zabihollah Shoja ◽

Alireza Najafi ◽

Mostafa Haji Mollahoseini ◽

Shohreh Shahmahmoodi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Drug Users ◽

Blood Donors ◽

Human Herpesvirus ◽

Intravenous Drug ◽

Human Herpesvirus 8 ◽

Intravenous Drug Users ◽

Herpesvirus 8 ◽

Sexual Behaviours ◽

Polymerase Chain

Studies looking at the frequency of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) among Iranian blood donors have produced conflicting results. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HHV-8 DNA by using polymerase chain reaction methods among 168 healthy individuals, 60 intravenous drug users and 100 HIV-infected patients from Iran. The prevalence of HHV-8 was significantly higher among intravenous drug users (13.3%) compared with the general population (3.6%; P = 0.017). The HHV-8 genome was mostly detected among intravenous drug users who displayed high-risk sexual behaviours. Moreover, the HHV-8 genome was also detected in 8% of HIV-infected patients. The present study findings support the likelihood that the transmission of HHV-8 is via a sexual route in the Iranian population.

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