title: Infection with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among families of patients with classic Kaposi's sarcoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Classic Kaposi's sarcoma (CKS) primarily affects elderly Mediterranean or Eastern European men. Incidence rates of CKS in Israel are among the world's highest. In practically all cases, antibodies against Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) can be detected. A relatively high seroprevalence rate of KSHV in Israel generally correlates with the incidence of CKS. A sexual mode of virus transmission is recognized among homosexual men, whereas the precise transmission routes in the heterosexual population and those with CKS are still unclear.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To better assess the transmission routes of KSHV in Israeli patients with CKS and their first-degree relatives as compared with a control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum was collected from all study participants and tested for KSHV antibodies by means of latent and lytic immunofluorescence assays. An open reading frame 65 (ORF65) Western blot assay was applied as a confirmatory tool.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three dermatological departments in Israel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-four Jewish patients with CKS, 143 of their first-degree relatives, and 186 hospital-based control subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seropositivity to KSHV was detected in 62 (96.9%) of the patients with CKS, in 56 (39.2%) of their first-degree relatives, and in only 21 (11.3%) of the hospital controls (P<.001). The specific relationship with the index patient (spouse, offspring, or sibling) had no significant effect on the prevalence of serpositivity in the family members.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our serologic evidence of familial clustering of KSHV infection suggests a predominantly nonsexual horizontal transmission route of the virus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Rambam Medical Center and the Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guttman-Yassky
authors.forename: Zippi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kra-Oz
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dubnov
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Friedman-Birnbaum
authors.forename: Isic
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Neli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zaltzman
authors.forename: Tova
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Fidi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Shai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linn
authors.forename: Dganit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rozenman
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: David
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silbermann
authors.forename: Micha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barchana
authors.forename: Reuven
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral