A total of 280 healthy Saudi children (155 males, 125 females) aged 1-
36 months were tested for IgG antibodies to human herpes virus type 6
(HHV-6). At the same time sera from 136 Saudi children 1-24 months (87
males and 49 females) who were clinically diagnosed as having measles
or rubella, but were negative to rubella or measles specific IgM anti
bodies, were also tested for anti-HHV-6-IgM antibodies. The age-specif
ic prevalence showed that exposure to HHV-6 starts in early life (7-12
months) among Saudi children to reach 100% by the age of 2 years. The
data also show that 45% of Saudi children with rashes were misdiagnos
ed for measles or rubella on clinical grounds, emphasizing the need fo
r laboratory confirmation of clinical diagnosis of these diseases. (C)
1998 Chapman & Hall Ltd.