Muyanga J, Phiri S, Brayfield B, Kankasa C, Bhat G, Klaskala W, Marx D, Mitchell C, Wood C; Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
9th Conf Retrovir Oppor Infect Feb 24 28 2002 Wash State Conv Trade Cent Seattle Wash Conf Retrovir Oppor Infect 9th 2002 Seattle Wash. 2002 Feb 24-28; 9: abstract no. 618-W.
Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln
BACKGROUND: Zambia has been affected by the AIDS epidemic, and a growing epidemic of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), which is now the most common malignancy seen in both adults and children. Since HHV-8 infection has been implicated to play a role in KS, the objective of the study is to determine the possible route of HHV-8 transmission from mother to infant, and to identify the risk factors in a cohort of mother/infant pairs recruited at delivery. We would also like to determine the HIV-1 and HHV-8 seroconversion rate of the mother/infant pairs at 12 months post-delivery.METHODS: Women in the early stages of labor were recruited. The maternal/infant blood samples were collected at birth and were tested for antibodies against HHV-8 and HIV-1. All positive samples were titered. The mother/infant pairs were followed-up at 6 and 12 months post-delivery, and were monitored for HIV-1 and HHV-8 seroconversion. The presence of HIV-1 antibodies was determined by 2 rapid HIV tests, and then confirmed by immunofluorescence (IFA) and Western blot. Antibodies for HHV-8 were detected by IFA using an HHV-8-infected lymphoma cell line; samples with antibody titer of 1:40 or greater were considered positive.RESULTS: The overall HHV-8 seroprevalence of the mothers recruited at delivery was 40% (1259/3136) and 30% (953/3136) were HIV-1-positive. The HIV-1 positive mothers were at a greater risk for HHV-8 infection as compared to those that were HIV-1 negative. By following a cohort of 331 women and their infants at 12 months after delivery, we found that about 3% of the women who were HIV-1 negative at delivery seroconverted to HIV-1. For the women that were HHV-8 negative at delivery, about 10% of them seroconverted to HHV-8. For the infants studied at 12 months after birth that were breast-fed, we found about 20% of them seroconverted to HHV-8 and 8% seroconverted to HIV-1.CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that there is a widespread HHV-8 infection in Zambian women and children. There is a high HHV-8 seroconversion rate of infants by 12 months post-delivery. Infants born to mothers who are HIV-1 positive are more likely to seroconvert to HHV-8 than those from HIV-1-negative mothers. Our results also suggest that, there are multiple routes of HHV-8 transmission to infants.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adult
- Blotting, Western
- Child
- Female
- Fluorescent Antibody Technique
- HIV Antibodies
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- HIV-1
- Herpesvirus 8, Human
- Humans
- Infant
- Mothers
- Risk Factors
- Sarcoma, Kaposi
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Zambia
- epidemiology
Other ID:
UI: 102264007
From Meeting Abstracts