title: Do fewer cases of Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-infected patients reflect a decrease in HHV8 seroprevalence?
abstract: Infection with human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) is associated with development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS); therefore also known as KS-associated herpes virus. KS is closely associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and consequently HHV8 seroprevalence is higher in HIV-infected compared to HIV-negative patients. Currently, KS is rarely seen in clinical practice, which might be a consequence of an optimized anti-HIV treatment leading to an improved immunological status, or alternatively of a decrease in HHV8 prevalence. To determine the prevalence of HHV8 antibodies in HIV-positive compared to HIV-negative patients from the University Hospital Frankfurt/Main, Germany, and to compare our results with previously published data to illustrate trends in the spread of infection. Hundred serum samples each of HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients were analyzed for HHV8 antibodies by using an IgG immunofluorescence test. The overall HHV8 seroprevalence was 16% with no statistically significant gender-specific differences; however, the distribution between the HIV-infected patients and the HIV-negative control group was significantly different (30 and 2%, respectively). The highest rate of seroprevalence in HIV-infected patients was detected at the age of 40-49 (42%) and the lowest rate at the age of 20-29 years (16.6%). In comparison with formerly conducted studies, our data clearly showed an increase in the HHV8 seroprevalence in HIV-infected patients, both in men and women. Therefore, we conclude that the low rate of clinical KS is associated with an improved immunological status due to an optimized anti-HIV therapy.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Virology, JW Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. claudia.reinheimer@kgu.de
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reinheimer
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Allwinn
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stürmer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006678:HIV / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012514:Sarcoma, Kaposi / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral