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The seroepidemiology of human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus): Distribution of infection in KS risk groups and evidence for sexual transmission

Nature Medicine volume 2, pages 918–924 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

Striking differences in Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) risk for AIDS patients who acquire HIV via homosexual activity and those whose HIV infections derive from blood product exposure suggest the presence of a sexually transmitted agent other than HIV in the development of KS. Using an immunofluorescence assay, we examined serum samples from 913 patients for the presence of antibody specific for infection by human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8), an agent whose genome is regularly found in KS tissue. The distribution of HHV8 seropositivity conforms to that expected for a sexually transmitted pathogen and tracks closely with the risk for KS development. Our data support the inference that this virus is the etiologic cofactor predicted by the epidemiology of KS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Departments of Microbiology and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94143-0414, USA

    Dean H. Kedes & Don Ganem

  2. Transfusion Safety Study and University of Southern California, 1840 North Soto Street, Los Angeles, California, 90032, USA

    Eva Operskalski

  3. Irwin Memorial Blood Centers, and Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94143, USA

    Michael Busch

  4. San Francisco Department of Public Health, Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 1360 Mission Street Suite 401, San Francisco, California, 94103, USA

    Robert Kohn & Jennifer Flood

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  5. Jennifer Flood
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  6. Don Ganem
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Kedes, D., Operskalski, E., Busch, M. et al. The seroepidemiology of human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's sarcoma–associated herpesvirus): Distribution of infection in KS risk groups and evidence for sexual transmission. Nat Med 2, 918–924 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0896-918

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