Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection in HIV/AIDS patients from Santos, Brazil: seroprevalence and associated factors.

Goal: The goal of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection among HIV-infected individuals from Brazil and the associated risk factors.

Study: A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 497 HIV/AIDS outpatients attending the local AIDS Reference Center in Santos (southeastern Brazil) between February 1997 and January 1998 had serum samples screened for anti-HHV-8 antibodies. Patients were considered seropositive whenever reactivity was observed in at least 1 of 3 tests (immunofluorescence assays for latent nuclear and lytic antigens and orf65 recombinant antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).