engleski

Seroprevalence and distribution of HHV-8 in HIV-infected patients and blood donors in Croatia

Background: Prevalence rates of antibodies to HHV-8 vary between countries and population studied. The rate of HHV-8 infection in various populations from Croatia has as yet not been reported. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence of HHV-8 in HIV-infected patients in Croatia and in blood donors from two Croatian cities, Zagreb and Dubrovnik. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional seroprevalence study. A total of 219 serum samples from blood donors and 166 from HIV-infected patients were analyzed for anti-HHV-8 antibodies. The presence and titre of IgG antibodies against HHV-8 was tested with an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) using whole virus lysate as antigen. The samples were taken during the year 2000. Results: The overall seroprevalence of antibodies against HHV-8 for HIV-infected patients was 13, 8% (23/166), it was highest among homosexuals 29.2% (14/48), and in heterosexuals it was 8.8% (8/91). In HIV-infected patients HHV-8 prevalence was more frequently found in the age group >= 40 years (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3-8.9, p=0.015), and this was also observed when adjusted for the risk factor (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.1-7.8, p=0.03). Kaposi's sarcoma was present in six (26%) of the 23 HHV-8 and HIV coinfected patients. There was no difference among the HHV-8 prevalence in the Mediterranean part of Croatia compared to the other parts of the country. The overall seroprevalence of antibodies against HHV-8 for the blood donor population was 4.1% (9/219), all HHV-8 positive blood donors were from Zagreb (9/160, 5.6%) and none from Dubrovnik (0/59). HIV-infected patients had a significantly higher antibody titer to HHV-8 than blood donors (p<0.0001). Conclusions: The highest HHV-8 prevalence rate was observed among HIV-infected homosexuals. Older age was associated with a higher prevalence rate of HHV-8 in HIV-infected patients. The prevalence was not related to persons living in the Mediterranean region of Croatia.

HHV-8; HIV-infected patients; Croatia

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