Cutaneous disseminated endemic Kaposi's sarcoma in a Polynesian man infected with a new divergent human herpesvirus 8 subtype D

Divergent KSHV/HHV-8 subtype D strains in New Caledonia and Solomon Islands, Melanesia

“…Such findings were not unexpected while this subtype is characteristic of inhabitants originating from Japan, south-east Asia and some Pacific Islands. Interestingly, most of the novel NC KSHV strains (10/11) clustered with those previously described in people of Melanesian ancestry originating from Vanuatu archipelago, 9 while only one (NCP467) clustered with those characterized in individuals of Polynesian ancestry originating from Wallis Island (WalkS1) and New Zealand (ZKS3) 12,14 (Fig. 2).…”

“…The great genetic diversity of the viral strains and the presence of "Polynesian" strains in natives individuals of Melanesian ancestry in NC, suggest the existence of contacts that may facilitate viral exchange and contributed to KSHV large distribution in Australasia. Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to conduct vast epidemiological and molecular studies in Polynesian territories such as Wallis and Futuna archipelago as well as in Aborigines from Australia and Papua New Guinea, where KS cases have been described among the indigenous populations, 12,13 suggesting that KSHV infection is highly endemic.…”

Novel Human Herpesvirus 8 Subtype D Strains in Vanuatu, Melanesia

“…Phylogenetic analyses were performed on the 30 novel sequences obtained in this study, on all subtype D available K1 sequences, and on representatives of the different HHV-8 subtypes/subgroups, as described ( 4 ). The phylogenetic analyses were performed with all of the sequences available to date in GenBank.…”

“…The phylogenetic analyses were performed with all of the sequences available to date in GenBank. These sequences include 3 strains from Japan (J24, J25, and J26), 1 from Australia (3Au1), 1 from Taiwan (TKS10), 1 from New Zealand (ZKS3), and 1 from Wallis (WalKS1) ( 2 , 4 , 6 – 8 ). Our results demonstrate that the Ni-Vanuatu HHV-8 clustered in 3 different genotype D subclades, which are highly supported phylogenetically with high bootstrap values of 99% or 100% (Figure 2).…”

Human Herpesvirus 8, Southern Siberia

“…Sequence analysis of the highly variable open reading frame (ORF)–K1 of HHV-8 has enabled the identification of 5 main molecular subtypes, A–E ( 1 ). A and C subtypes are prevalent in persons in Europe, Mediterranean countries, northwestern China, and the United States; subtype B, in persons in sub-Saharan Africa; subtype D, in persons in the Pacific Islands and Japan ( 2 – 6 ); and subtype E, in Native Americans in the United States.…”