Human herpesvirus 8 infection among various population groups in southern Israel.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of antibodies to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus among Israeli and Ethiopian subjects.

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 98 Israeli Jewish students aged 18-30 years, 100 HIV-1-seronegative Ethiopian immigrants to Israel of the same age, and 100 HIV-1-seronegative Ethiopian children 1-12 years old upon their arrival in southern Israel. Plasma samples were obtained from 3 hospitalized patients with multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) as positive controls.