Mother-to-child transmission of human herpesvirus-8 in South Africa.
To investigate transmission of human herpesvirus (HHV)-8, 2546 mother-child pairs were recruited from rural clinics in South Africa and were tested for antibodies against lytic and latent HHV-8 antigens. The prevalence of antibodies in children increased with increasing maternal antibody titer (lytic, chi 21=26, and P<.001; latent, chi 21=55, and P<.001). HHV-8 DNA was detectable in 145 of 978 maternal saliva samples (mean virus load, 488,450 copies/mL; range, 1550-660,000 copies/mL) and in 12 of 43 breast-milk samples (mean virus load, 5800 copies/mL; range, 1550-12,540 copies/mL). The prevalence of HHV-8 DNA in maternal saliva was unrelated to latent anti-HHV-8 antibody status but was higher in mothers with the highest titers of lytic antibodies than in other mothers (34% vs. 8%; P<.001). The prevalence of lytic anti-HHV-8 antibodies in children was 13% (70/528) if the mother did not have HHV-8 in saliva and was 29% (8/28) if the mother had a high HHV-8 load (>50,000 copies/mL) in saliva (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-6.2). The presence of HHV-8 DNA in maternal saliva was unrelated to latent antibodies in children. Saliva could be a route of transmission of HHV-8 from person to person, although other routes cannot be ruled out.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, and Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, Oxford, United Kingdom. martded@aol.com
Martin
M
Dedicoat
Robert
R
Newton
Khaled R
KR
Alkharsah
Julie
J
Sheldon
Ildiko
I
Szabados
Bukekile
B
Ndlovu
Taryn
T
Page
Delphine
D
Casabonne
Charles F
CF
Gilks
Sharon A
SA
Cassol
Denise
D
Whitby
Thomas F
TF
Schulz
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000821:virology; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology; D013019:South Africa
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D015483:HIV Antibodies