A Ghareh Baghian, A Zaghal, M Farhadi Langerudi , G Karimi,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (4 2006)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8), also known as Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus, is believed to be the infectious trigger for Kaposi sarcoma. HHV-8 transmission takes place via different routes such as saliva, sexual intercourse, mucosal contact and possibly blood transfusion. The objective of this study was to determine HHV-8 seroprevalence in otherwise healthy blood donors as immunocompetent hosts, in HIV positive individuals (immunocompromised hosts), and in hemodialysis patients as multi-transfused patients. This is the first time that research of this magnitude on HHV-8 prevalence is conducted in Iran.
Material and Methods: The study method was analytic-observational. We measured HHV-8 antibody levels in 118 hemodialysis patients, 35 HIV positive subjects and 256 healthy blood donors. The primary test method was ELISA positive results were confirmed by IFA (immunofluorescence assay). Subjects with positive results on both ELISA and IFA were regarded as HHV-8 cases.
Results: Overall, 20 hemodialysis patients (16.9%), 16 HIV individuals (45.7%) and 5 blood donors (2%) had HHV-8 antibodies. Analysis with χ2 tests did not show any significant association with sex (p=0.24), blood transfusion or the number of transfused blood units (p=0.36 and 0.73, respectively). But there was positive correlation between age and the presence of antibodies (P=0.01).
Conclusion: Serologic prevalence of HHV-8 in blood donors (as apparently healthy individuals) proved to be lower than in other studies and, in some cases, equal to the figures from other countries. The high prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in HIV positive individuals may be partly attributed to high-risk sexual behavior and repeated exposure to pathogenic agents. The higher prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in hemodialysis patients as compared to blood donors (normal individuals) may be related to specific dialysis procedures or multiple transfusions with the resulting potential for infection.
