ABSENCE OF DETECTABLE HUMAN-HERPESVIRUS-8 IN THE SEMEN OF HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS-INFECTED MEN WITHOUT KAPOSIS-SARCOMA

The prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)/Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)-as sociated herpesvirus was investigated in the semen of 99 human immunod eficiency virus (HIV)-infected men (median CD4 cell count, 357/mm(3)) by use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay capable of detecting <10 copies of HHV-8 DNA. Of the subjects, 95 (96%) self-identified as men who have sex with men (MSM), and 3 had a history of clinical KS. Seminal cell specimens were negative for HHV-8 in 98 subjects. None of the 26 without KS (27.1% of 96 tested) who were seropositive for HHV- 8 by IFA for latency-associated nuclear antigens had HHV-8 detected in their semen, The only subject with any evidence for seminal. HHV-8 DN A was seropositive for HHV-8 and had active KS. HHV-8 was detected in 10 (10.4%) of 96 peripheral blood mononuclear cell specimens. The prev alence of HHV-8 DNA by PCR in semen of HIV-infected MSM without KS is low.