Longitudinal study of human herpesvirus 6 infection in organ transplant recipients.
Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) has been frequently isolated from immunocompromised patients. To determine if a routine survey of HHV-6 infection is needed after organ transplantation, as is the case for human cytomegalovirus infection, we observed patients who had received kidney, liver, and kidney-liver transplants; these patients were followed up for the first 3 months after transplantation. HHV-6 infection was diagnosed by isolation of the virus and by the results of serological tests. Antibodies to HHV-6 were detected in 28 (87.5%) of the 32 recipients, before the transplant, whereas only 4 (12.5%) of the 32 recipients were seronegative for HHV-6. After engraftment, HHV-6 infection occurred in 10 (31%) of the 32 recipients; infection was diagnosed by isolation of the virus (6 of 32 recipients) or by the results of serological tests (4 of 32 recipients). Regardless of whether they had HHV-6 primary infection or reactivation, severe clinical manifestations were observed only in patients who had concomitant cytomegalovirus infection, and no correlation could be found between graft rejection and HHV-6 infection. These results suggest that HHV-6 infection occurs frequently in organ transplant recipients and that it is usually not associated with severe clinical manifestations unless accompanied by a concomitant CMV infection.
Herbein
G
G
Virology Institute, Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France.
Strasswimmer
J
J
Altieri
M
M
Woehl-Jaegle
M L
ML
Wolf
P
P
Obert
G
G
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015654:Herpesvirus 6, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged
D000914:Antibodies, Viral