Human herpesvirus-8 seroconversions after renal transplantation

Background. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) is a new human herpesvirus that is clearly associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). A previous study has reporte d that the prevalence of KS in a cohort of renal transplant recipients with previous HHV-8 infection was 28% and two other studies have shown that KS can be linked to HHV-8 seroconversion after graft. The aim of this study wa s to evaluate the HHV-8 seroconversion rate in a cohort of renal allograft recipients in Paris. Methods. Two hundred eighty-seven patients who were HHV-8 seronegative befo re renal transplantation were tested for HHV-8 antibodies by an immunofluor escence assay 12 months after transplantation. Results. Of the 287 patients, 6 (2.09%) seroconverted after renal transplan tation. None of these 6 patients developed KS within 3 years of the first H HV-8 positive serum. None of the clinical manifestations that could be asso ciated with HHV-8 primary infection were observed during the seroconversion . Conclusions. Our results demonstrated that HHV-8 seroconversion can be obse rved even in a low HHV-8 prevalence area and confirmed the need to perform systematic screening for HHV-8 antibodies in renal graft donors and recipie nts.