Human herpesvirus-8 seroconversions after renal transplantation.
BACKGROUND
Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) is a new human herpesvirus that is clearly associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). A previous study has reported that the prevalence of KS in a cohort of renal transplant recipients with previous HHV-8 infection was 28% and two other studies have shown that KS can be linked to HHV-8 seroconversion after graft. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HHV-8 seroconversion rate in a cohort of renal allograft recipients in Paris.


METHODS
Two hundred eighty-seven patients who were HHV-8 seronegative before renal transplantation were tested for HHV-8 antibodies by an immunofluorescence assay 12 months after transplantation.


RESULTS
Of the 287 patients, 6 (2.09%) seroconverted after renal transplantation. None of these 6 patients developed KS within 3 years of the first HHV-8 positive serum. None of the clinical manifestations that could be associated with HHV-8 primary infection were observed during the seroconversion.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrated that HHV-8 seroconversion can be observed even in a low HHV-8 prevalence area and confirmed the need to perform systematic screening for HHV-8 antibodies in renal graft donors and recipients.
Milliancourt
C
C
Department of Virology UPRES 2387 - CERVI, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, 83 Bd de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris - France.
Barete
S
S
Marcelin
A G
AG
Mouquet
C
C
Dupin
N
N
Francès
C
C
Agut
H
H
Bitker
M O
MO
Calvez
V
V
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D000914:Antibodies, Viral