title: Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 among injection drug users in San Francisco.
abstract: The association between injection drug use and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) was examined to investigate bloodborne transmission of the virus. In all, 1905 injection drug users (IDUs) enrolled in a cross-sectional study were tested for K8.1 antibodies to HHV-8 lytic antigen. Logistic regression was used to adjust for demographic and sexual behavior variables. HHV-8 seroprevalence was 10% among women, 10% among heterosexual men, and 23% among men who have sex with men. In adjusted analyses, HHV-8 seroprevalence increased with longer duration of injection drug use for each of these groups (P = .01, P = .03, and P = .049 for trend, respectively). HHV-8 infection is relatively common among IDUs in San Francisco, and longer duration of injection drug use is associated with an increase in the risk of HHV-8 infection that is not explained by sexual behavior or demographic differences. These results are consistent with the occurrence of bloodborne transmission of HHV-8 among IDUs.
authors.affiliation: Viral Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland 20852, USA.
authors.forename: Jonnae
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Atkinson
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Edlin
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Engels
authors.forename: Alex H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kral
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seal
authors.forename: Christine J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Gamache
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Whitby
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000635:transmission; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D019529:Sexuality; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral