Human herpesvirus 8 detection in nasal secretions and saliva

David J. Blackbourn, Evelyne T. Lennette, John Ambroziak, Dan V. Mourich, Jay A. Levy*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

101 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The presence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in nasal secretions and saliva from 14 HHV-8- seropositive persons, including 8 Kaposi's sarcoma patients: 7 were human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected, 6 of whom were asymptomatic. HHV-8 was detected in one or both body fluids in 8 (57%) of 14 subjects. Parallel PCR testing revealed the concomitant presence of cytomegalovirus, Epstein- Barr virus, and HHV-6 in various combinations in these body fluids. These data indicate frequent shedding of multiple herpes-viruses in nasal secretions and saliva, particularly in Kaposi's sarcoma patients. Both body fluids are therefore potential sources HHV-8 by nonsexual transmission.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)213-216
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Infectious Diseases
Volume177
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1998

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Received 28 February 1997; revised 31 July 1997. Informed consent was obtained from all subjects participating in this study, which received the approval of the Committee on Human Research, University of California, San Francisco. Financial support: Universitywide AIDS Research Program grant R95-SF-088. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Jay A. Levy, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-1270.

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