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Seroprevalence of HHV‐8 infection in the pediatric population of two university hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Author(s) -
Avelleira João Carlos Regazzi,
Lupi Omar,
CaterinodeAraujo Adele,
SantosFortuna Elizabeth de los
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-4632
pISSN - 0011-9059
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2006.02523.x
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , serology , medicine , epidemiology , population , transmission (telecommunications) , demography , immunology , virology , antibody , environmental health , engineering , sociology , electrical engineering
Background The authors present a serologic survey of the prevalence of herpesvirus‐8 (HHV‐8) among 171 children from 0 to 12 years old in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Materials and methods Sera were tested for latent nuclear and lytic antigens using indirect immunofluorescence and Western blotting. Results Serology for HHV‐8 was positive in 16 of 171 patients (9.35%). Among 13 HIV‐positive patients, four (31%) were also positive for HHV‐8. The seropositivity among healthy children was 7.6%, and females were significantly ( P < 0.002) more associated with HHV‐8 seropositivity (16%) than males (1.1%). Conclusions We detected a higher HHV‐8 seroprevalence among the pediatric population in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when compared with similar studies performed in other countries. Nonsexual routes of transmission are a possible explanation for this pattern. The unusual finding of a higher seroprevalence among female children could be explained by a specific route of exposition or even an epidemiological bias.