title: Human herpesvirus 8 transfusion transmission in Ghana, an endemic region of West Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) seroprevalence ranges between less than 5% in Europe and North America and 50% to 70% in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence of HHV-8 transfusion transmission is only indirect. We conducted a serologic (anti-HHV-8) and molecular (HHV-8 DNA) study of samples from paired donor-immunocompetent recipients transfused with whole blood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Samples from 252 donor-recipient pairs were tested. Immunoglobulin G to HHV-8 was detected with enzyme immunoassays and confirmed with an in-house immunofluorescence assay. The cellular fraction from seroreactive donors and their recipients was tested for HHV-8 DNA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anti-HHV-8 was positive (reactive in two or more assays) in 28 (11%) patients and 16 (6%) donors. Of 12 seronegative recipients (at risk of transmission) receiving seropositive blood, one very likely transmission was identified (8.3% confidence interval, 0%-23%). The donor blood contained HHV-8 DNA and his and four other donors' sequences clustered separately from recorded genotypes with a 97% bootstrap constituting a distinct genotype.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HHV-8 is transmitted in Ghana but does not carry clinical consequences since most patients are immunocompetent. The clinical risk will increase with the availability of immunosuppressive drugs in sub-Saharan Africa. We propose that a new genotype (HHV-8-G for Ghana) be added to the current nomenclature.
authors.affiliation: Division of Transfusion Medicine, Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gobbini
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Owusu-Ofori
authors.forename: Anne-Geneviève
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Marcelin
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Candotti
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Allain
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005838:Genotype; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D016701:Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral