Abstract
To estimate the prevalence of human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) in Albania and its correlation with HBV and HCV, we tested 196 serum samples collected from apparently healthy adults (i.e., 154 women and 42 men). We found 20% anti-HHV-8 antibodies, about 10% HbsAg-positive, and 67% anti-HBc antibodies; anti-HCV antibody prevalence was 3%. It remains to be determined whether HHV-8 infection and HCV infection have common modes of transmission.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Weiss RA, Whitby D, Talbot S, et al. Human herpesvirus type 8 and Kaposi's sarcoma. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 1998; 23: 51–54 (Review).
Calabro ML, Sheldon J, Favero A, et al. Seroprevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus 8 in several regions of Italy. J Hum Virol 1998; 1: 207–213.
Gambus G, Bourboulia D, Esteve A, et al. Prevalence and distribution of HHV-8 in different subpopulations, with and without HIV infection, in Spain. AIDS 2001; 15: 1167–1174.
Iscovich J, Fischbein A, Fisher-Fischbein J, et al. Seroprevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus in healthy adults in Israel. Anticancer Res 2000; 20: 2119–2122.
Stratigos JD, Katoulis AC, Stravrianeas NG. An overview of classic Kaposi's sarcoma in Greece. Adv Exp Med Biol 1999; 455: 503–506.
SimpsonGuy R, Schulz Thomas F, Whitby Denise, et al. Prevalence of Kaposi's sarcoma associated herpesvirus infection measured by antibodies to recombinant capsid protein and latent immunofluorescence antigen. Lancet 1996; 348(9035): 1133–1138.
Martin JN, Ganem DE, Osmond DH, et al. Sexual transmission and the natural history of human herpesvirus 8 infection. N Engl J Med 1998; 338: 948–954.
Andreoni M, El-Sawaf G, Rezza G, et al. High seroprevalence of antibodies to human herpes virus-8 in Egyptian children: Evidence of nonsexual transmission. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999; 91: 465–469.
Rezza G, Andreoni M, Dorrucci M, et al. Human herpesvirus 8 seropositivity and risk of Kaposi's sarcoma and other acquired immunodeficiency syndromerelated diseases. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999; 91: 1440–1441.
Schatz O, Monini P, Bugarini R, et al. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus serology in Europe and Uganda: Multicentre study with multiple and novel assays. J Med Virol 2001; 65: 123–132.
StataCorp. 2001. Stata Statistical Software: Release 7.0. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.
Goedert JJ, Charurat M, Blattner WA, et al. Risk factors for Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection among HIV-1-infected pregnant women in the USA. AIDS 2003; 17: 425–433.
Parisi SG, Sarmati L, Pappagallo M, et al. Prevalence trend and correlates of HHV-8 infection in HIV-infected patients. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2002; 29: 295–299.
Chironna M, Germinario C, Lopalco PL, Quarto M, Barbuti S. HBV, HCV and HDV infections in albanian refugees in Southern Italy (Apulia region). Epidemiol Infect 2000; 125: 163–167.
Dalekos DN, Zervou E, Karabini F, Tsianos EV. Prevalence of viral markers among refugees from Southern Albania: Increased incidence of hepatitis A, B and D viruses. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 1995; 7: 553–558.
Santantonio T, Lo Caputo S, Germinarlo C, et al. Prevalence of hepatitis virus infections in albanian refugees. Eur J Epidemiol 1993; 9: 537–540.
Malamitsi-Puchner A, Papacharitonos S, Sotos D, et al. Prevalence study of different hepatitis markers among pregnant Albanian refugees in Greece. Eur J Epidemiol 1996; 12: 297–301.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schinaia, N., Kodra, Y., Sarmati, L. et al. Prevalence of HHV-8 Infection in Albanian Adults and Association with HBV and HCV. Eur J Epidemiol 19, 467–469 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000027358.38997.66
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:EJEP.0000027358.38997.66