DETECTION OF HUMAN VIRUSES IN PERIODONTAL POCKETS USING POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

Even though viruses have been implicated in the etiology of several me dical and dental disorders, little or no data are available on the pos sible involvement of human viruses in the pathogenesis of human period ontal disease. This study investigated the presence of human cytomegal ovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus, human papillomavirus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in crevicular fluid samples fr om 30 patients with advanced periodontitis and 26 subjects with gingiv itis. Viral identification was performed on direct subgingival samples from 3 diseased sites in each patient using the polymerase chain reac tion technique. Seventy-eight percent of advanced periodontitis patien ts were positive for at least one of the five test viruses. Cytomegalo virus was detected in 60% of the periodontitis patients, Epstein-Barr virus in 30%, herpes simplex virus in 20%, human papillomavirus in 17% and HIV in 7%. Forty percent of the periodontitis patients revealed c oinfection by 2 to 5 viruses. Only 31% of the gingivitis subjects show ed a positive viral identification in crevicular fluid, and infected i ndividuals only revealed human cytomegalovirus. This study demonstrate d that human viruses may occur in periodontitis lesions with relativel y high prevalence. The pathogenetic significance of human viruses in d estructive periodontal disease needs to be determined.