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Human herpesvirus 8 infections

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Abstract

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS)-associated herpesvirus is a recently identified virus that is associated with KS, multicentric Castleman’s disease, and body cavity-based lymphomas. KS is the most common kind of cancer in AIDS patients and the initial AIDS-defining condition in over 20% of patients. HHV-8 DNA has now been detected in over 95% of KS tissue samples supporting the concept that HHV-8 has a causal role in KS. The discovery has opened new avenues for understanding the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of KS and related conditions.

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  1. Infectious Diseases Division, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1352, 94143, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Ruth M. Greenblatt MD (Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology)

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Greenblatt, R.M. Human herpesvirus 8 infections. Curr Infect Dis Rep 1, 279–285 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-999-0031-5

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