Seroprevalence and molecular diversity of Human Herpesvirus 8 among people living with HIV in Brazzaville, Congo

Abstract

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is endemic in Africa, although studies of this infection are rare in Congo. We evaluated seroprevalence and HHV-8 diversity among people living with HIV. We included 353 patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. Antibodies against HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. In HHV-8 positive patients, we performed HHV-8 quantification in blood and saliva by real-time PCR and typing by Sanger sequencing of K1 open reading frame. HHV-8 seroprevalence was 19%, being male (odd ratio [OR] = 1.741, [95% Confidence interval {CI}, 0.97–3.07]; p = 0.0581) and having multiple sex partners before HIV diagnosis (OR = 1.682, [CI 95%, 0.97–2.92]; p = 0.0629) tended to be associated with HHV-8 seropositivity. Of the 64 HHV-8 seropositive patients, HHV-8 DNA was detected in 10 (16%) in saliva, 6 (9%) in whole-blood and in 2 (3%) in both whole-blood and saliva. Three out of 6 HHV-8 strains were subtypes A5, 2 subtype B1 and 1 subtype C. HHV-8 seroprevalence was relatively low with more frequent carriage in men, associated with asymptomatic oral excretion and a predominance of subtype A5. These data tend to support the hypothesis of horizontal transmission in people living with HIV in Brazzaville.

Molecular Epidemiology of Human Herpes Virus Type 8 Among Patients with Compromised Immune System in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…This person had a very low CD4 + T lymphocytes count (14 cells/µL) and a very high viral load (331, 131 copies/mL), a condition favorable to the development of opportunistic infections such as HHV-8 infection. 26 …”

“…This person had a very low CD4 + T lymphocytes count (14 cells/µL) and a very high viral load (331, 131 copies/mL), a condition favorable to the development of opportunistic infections such as HHV-8 infection. 26 The detection of HHV-8 in ulcerated lesions and not in plasma in only one HIV-1-infected patient could be due to the pathophysiology of HHV-8, which would lead it to specific areas of the body and therefore to the onset of symptoms. Skin lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma are clinically classified into the patchy, plaque and nodular stage and appear mainly in the extremities, but in more advanced cases appear as multiple ovoid-shaped skin lesions in the trunk symmetrically.…”

Evaluation of interleukin-23 expression in classic kaposi’s sarcoma and AIDS-Associated

“…Transmission of this virus occurs mainly by saliva. Seven different subtypes of HHV-8 have been reported and its distribution varies geographically throughout the world (Malonga et al, 2021).…”

The contemporary immunoassays for HIV diagnosis: a concise overview

“…HIV replicate in T lymphocytes while AIDS is characterized by the loss of helper T cells that express the CD4+ surface proteins [ 6 ]. The CD4+ cells count (<200/mm 3 ) could be used as a marker for disease severity and the risk of opportunistic infections [ 7 ]. In the early phase of HIV, the virus is detectable in the blood via cDNA, RNA, and p24 antigen.…”

“…The presence of indeterminate HIV antibodies is usually detected in the acute stage of infection. Detection of the virus in the acute stage is of significant importance concerning various issues, for example, public health, clinical diagnosis, and early treatment [ 7 ]. Patients with acute stage of the disease are at the highest risk of secondary transmission as they contain high viral load [ 8 ].…”