Prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus-8 in populations with and without risk for infection in São Paulo State

Abstract

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is a newly described herpesvirus that is etiologically associated with all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Seroepidemiological studies have shown high prevalence rates of HHV-8 antibodies among men who have sex with men (MSM) and AIDS patients, African children, Brazilian Amerindians, and elderly individuals in certain regions of Europe. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in healthy children and young adults from different cities in São Paulo State, and in a population at high risk for HHV-8 infection: HIV-negative MSM, and AIDS patients with and without KS. Antibodies to HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen and lytic-phase antigens were detected by immunofluorescence assays. In 643 healthy children and young adults from the general population attending a vaccination program for yellow fever in ten different cities in São Paulo State, the prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies detected by the presence of latent or lytic antigens ranged from 1.0 to 4.1% in the different age groups (mean = 2.5%). In the MSM group, the prevalence was 31/95 (32.6%). In the group of patients with AIDS, the prevalence was 39.2% (51/130) for non-KS patients and 98.7% (77/78) for AIDS patients with the diagnosis of KS confirmed by histopathological examination. We conclude that HHV-8 has a restricted circulation among healthy children and young adults in the general population of São Paulo State and a high prevalence among MSM and AIDS patients.

Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 infection in children born to HIV-1- infected women in São Paulo, Brazil

“…HHV-8 infection is common in HIV-positive patients, being significantly higher in HIV-positive homosexual men as compared to HIV-infected patients showing other behavioral risk factors. In the present study, the prevalence of HHV-8 infection in HIV-infected mothers was not evaluated, and although in previous studies undertaken in São Paulo State, the prevalence rate of HHV-8 antibodies in women ranged from 7.9 to 18.8% (17,18), there are no data that allow us to compare these groups. The higher prevalence of HHV-8 infection in HIV-infected patients than that seen in healthy Brazilian adults, taken together with the demonstration of HHV-8 DNA in cervical scrapes from HIV-infected women (19), suggest that, theoretically, children born to HIV-infected mothers could be at risk of acquiring HHV-8 infection.…”

“…IFA were performed using the BCBL-1 cell line as described previously (17). The viral lytic cycle was induced by incubating BCBL-1 cells with 20 ng/ml 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) for 96 h. Punctuate nuclear staining in untreated BCBL-1 cells was considered to indicate positivity for antibodies to LANA.…”

Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of classic Kaposi's sarcoma, seroprevalence, and variants of human herpesvirus 8 in South America: A critical review of an old disease

“…Nineteen patients reported their ethnicity to be Caucasian, nine reported African descent, four reported mixed origin, and one patient was of Amazonian descent. Only three of the major HHV-8 subtypes were detected, with 48%, 21%, and 30% of patients harboring subtypes A, B, and C. In the same year, Souza et al 37 reported a seroprevalence study performed in 643 healthy children and young adults from the general population in ten different areas in Sao Paulo, all in high risk groups for HHV-8 infection. They found an overall seroprevalence of 2.5% among healthy children and adults from the general population using lytic IFA.…”

Latent human herpesvirus - 8 (HHV-8) infection in female commercial sex workers from Imbituba, Santa Catarina, Brazil

“…Studies regarding its presence in Brazil disclosed HHV-8 endemic populations among Amerindians and homosexual/bisexual men infected with HIV-1 [2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”