title: Respective roles of serological status and blood specific antihuman herpesvirus 8 antibody levels in human herpesvirus 8 intrafamilial transmission in a highly endemic area.
abstract: Transmission of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), the etiological agent of Kaposi's sarcoma, occurs mainly during childhood in endemic countries and, to a large extent, through intrafamilial contacts. To additionally investigate this familial transmission, and especially the role of plasma anti-HHV-8 antibody titers, we conducted a large survey in a village from Cameroon, Central Africa, including 92 families (608 individuals). Plasma samples were tested for specific IgG directed against HHV-8 lytic antigens by immunofluorescence assay, and titers were determined by 2-fold dilutions. Global HHV-8 seroprevalence was 60%, raising from 32% under 9 years up to a plateau of around 62% between 15 and 40 years. The familial correlation patterns in HHV-8 seropositive/seronegative status showed strong dependence from mother to child and between siblings. In contrast, no familial correlation in anti-HHV-8 antibody levels was observed among infected subjects. In particular, no relationship was observed between the anti-HHV-8 antibody titer of HHV-8 seropositive mothers and the proportion of their HHV-8 seropositive children. Furthermore, a random permutation study of the anti-HHV-8 antibody titers among HHV-8 infected subjects showed that the main risk factor for infection was the HHV-8 serologic status and not the antibody level. In addition, no correlation was found between anti-HHV-8 antibody levels and buffy coat HHV-8 viral loads in a subsample of 95 infected subjects. Overall, these results strongly suggest that, in this highly endemic population from Central Africa, HHV-8 transmission mainly occurs from mother to child and between siblings, and it is independent of plasma antibody levels of HHV-8 infected relatives.
authors.affiliation: Université René Descartes, INSERM U.550, Faculté de Médecine Necker, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Plancoulaine
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abel
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trégouët
authors.forename: Renan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Duprez
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Beveren
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tortevoye
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Froment
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000350:Africa, Central / Q000453:epidemiology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005190:Family; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission*; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral