Prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of acute and chronic leukemia patients in Taiwan.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is associated with the development of Kaposi's sarcoma and several other human malignancies. The prevalence of HHV-8 DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in Taiwanese leukemia populations has not been investigated. In this study, HHV-8 DNA was extracted from PBMCs, and detected in 10.

Recombinant ORF66 and ORFK12 antigens for the detection of human herpesvirus 8 antibodies in HIV-positive and -negative patients.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), also known as Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is not routinely isolated in cell cultures, and thus detection of HHV-8-specific antibodies is usually performed. In this study, we performed recombinant antigens ORF66- and ORFK12-based Western blot strip assays and ELISA, and surveyed the seroprevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in HIV-positive and -negative patients. In serum samples from patients with positive plasma HHV-8 DNA, the sensitivity of the Western blot strip assay was 100% for the anti-ORF66 antibodies and 83.

Comparative prevalence of plasma human herpesvirus 8 DNA in sexual contact and intravenous injection routes of HIV transmission.

Detection of plasma human herpesvirus (HHV)-8 DNA correlates with antibodies to lytic HHV-8 antigens, being predictive of Kaposi's sarcoma in HIV-infected patients. We show that the prevalence of plasma HHV-8 DNA was 10.6% for HIV infection through sexual contact and 7.