Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) serology in allogeneic bone marrow transplant recipients

Human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) may be sexually transmitted, but transmission v ia blood cells has not yet been excluded, We used a modified immunofluoresc ence assay to detect Ab to HHV8 latency-associated nuclear Ag in sera of 20 0 allogeneic BRIT recipients and their related donors. In control subjects, Ab were found in 85% of patients with AIDS-related Kaposi sarcoma (n = 52, 34% of HIV-1 infected subjects without Kaposi sarcoma (n = 56) and 9.5% of blood donors (n = 42), Among BRIT donors, 14.5% were HHV8(+), while 10% of recipients were positive before, and 18% after BMT. In the 176 HHV8-negati ve recipients at BMT, there was no relationship between post-BRIT seroconve rsion, which occurred in 26 cases (15%), and the donor's serological status . Of note, 10 HHV8+ recipients before BRIT became negative post-BRIT. Outco me of BMT was not influenced by prior HHV8(+) seropositivity, seroconversio n or seroreversion of recipients. That HHV8 seropositivy among blood donors from the Paris area was comparable to that of I)MT donors and recipients b efore BMT indicates that these patients had not been at risk of HHV8 by blo od products received before BRIT, although post-BMT HHV8 seroconversion pro bably corresponded to contamination by blood transfusions rather than by th e BMT.