title: Mixed patterns of transmission of human herpesvirus-8 (Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus) in Malawian families.
abstract: To study transmission patterns of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) (Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus) in families in Malawi, nucleotide sequences derived from two hypervariable loci of the HHV-8 genome, the V1 and V2 regions of open reading frame K1 (K1/V1 and K1/V2, respectively), were amplified from blood and mouth rinse samples of 22 patients with treated and untreated Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and their first-degree relatives (n=67). In patients with KS, vincristine therapy was significantly associated with non-detectability of circulating, but not oral, K1/V1 DNA. Intra-familial K1/V1 phylogenetic comparisons of eight families were possible. Both identical and non-identical sequences were observed between family members, suggesting transmission of HHV-8 along both intra- and extra-familial transmission routes.
authors.affiliation: Virus Reference Division, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK2.|Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, UCL, University of London, UK1.
authors.forename: Rachelle D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, UCL, University of London, UK1.
authors.forename: Tim A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, UCL, University of London, UK1.
authors.forename: Alastair C W
authors.initials: ACW
authors.lastname: Waugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics3 and Department of Surgery4, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Molyneux
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics3 and Department of Surgery4, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Borgstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics3 and Department of Surgery4, College of Medicine, University of Malawi, Blantyre, Malawi.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sherry
authors.affiliation: Virus Reference Division, Central Public Health Laboratory, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HT, UK2.
authors.forename: Chong Gee
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Teo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, UCL, University of London, UK1.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Porter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005260:Female; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014750:Vincristine / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D004279:DNA, Viral; D014750:Vincristine