The prevalence of herpes family virus DNA in the conjunctiva of patients positive and negative for human immunodeficiency virus using the polymerase chain reaction

Objective: To help understand the pathogenesis of herpes family virus ocula r infection among patients positive for HIV, the authors compared the rates of detection of herpes family virus DNA from the conjunctiva of patients w ho are positive and negative for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using t he polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: The conjunctival scrapings of 30 patients positive for HIV an d 30 patients negative for HIV were examined. Intervention: PCR was used to assay for the presence of herpes simplex viru s type 1 (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Ep stein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA (n = 240 samples). Main Outcome Measure: The rate of detection of virus DNA in the two groups, controlling for age, gender, and race, was measured. Results: HSV and VZV DNA were not detected in any of the HIV-positive or HI V-negative samples. CMV DNA was detected in 20% (6 of 30) of patients posit ive for HIV and was undetected in control subjects negative for HIV (P = 0. 01), EBV DNA was detected in 40% (12 of 30) of patients positive for HIV an d in 47% (14 of 30) of control subjects negative for HIV (P = 0.58), Conclusions: There was no difference in the frequency of detection of HSV, VZV, or EBV DNA from the conjunctiva of patients positive or negative for H IV, Only CMV DNA was detected at a significantly higher rate in the conjunc tiva of patients positive for HIV compared with control subjects negative f or HIV, These different rates of peripheral virus shedding may be one possi ble explanation for the different rates of clinical infection among the her pes family viruses among patients positive for HIV.