Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 in human immunodeficiency virus 1‐positive and human immunodeficiency virus 1‐negative populations in Japan

To determine the seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) among human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV‐1)‐positive (HIV‐1+) and HIV‐1‐negative (HIV‐1−) populations in Japan, 276 HIV‐1+ patients and 1,000 HIV‐1− blood donors were enrolled in this study. Antibodies against HHV8 latency‐associated nuclear antigen (LANA) were examined through indirect immunofluorescent assay by using a B‐cell line that was infected latently with HHV8 (body cavity‐based lymphoma 1). An HHV8− and Epstein‐Barr virus‐negative B‐cell line (Ramos) was used as a control. Thirty‐two seropositive cases against LANA (anti‐LANA+) were identified among the 276 HIV‐1+ patients who were studied. Five cases were foreigners living in Japan. The risk factor of all 27 Japanese cases was unprotected sexual intercourse, and the great majority of these cases (23 in 27; 85%) reported homosexual/bisexual behavior. Anti‐LANA+ status correlated with the presence of sexually transmitted diseases, such as amoeba and HBV infection, further suggesting male homosexual behavior as the main route of HHV8 transmission in Japan. Only two LANA+ cases were identified among 1,000 HIV− blood donors in Japan; thus, seroprevalence of HHV8 identified by LANA was estimated to be 0.2% among HIV‐1− populations in this country. J. Med. Virol. 57:159–162, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.