Seroprevalence and molecular diversity of Human Herpesvirus 8 among people living with HIV in Brazzaville, Congo

• Published in: Scientific reports 2021-08, Vol.11 (1), p.17442-9, Article 17442
• Main Authors: Malonga, Gervillien Arnold, Jary, Aude, Leducq, Valentin, Moudiongui Mboungou Malanda, Dimitry, Boumba, Anicet Luc Magloire, Chicaud, Elodie, Malet, Isabelle, Calvez, Vincent, Peko, Jean Felix, Marcelin, Anne-Geneviève
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/1647/514/1948; 631/1647/664; 631/326/596/1553; 692/4028/67/395; 692/420/254; Adult; Africa - epidemiology; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antiretroviral agents; Blood; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Herpesviridae Infections - blood; Herpesviridae Infections - epidemiology; Herpesviridae Infections - virology; Herpesvirus 8, Human - classification; Herpesvirus 8, Human - immunology; Herpesvirus 8, Human - isolation & purification; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; HIV; HIV - isolation & purification; HIV Infections - complications; HIV Infections - virology; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Latency; Latency-associated nuclear antigen; Life Sciences; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Phylogeny; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Saliva; Saliva - virology; Santé publique et épidémiologie; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97070-4

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is endemic in Africa, although studies of this infection are rare in Congo. We evaluated seroprevalence and HHV-8 diversity among people living with HIV. We included 353 patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. Antibodies against HHV-8 latency-associated nuclear antigen were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. In HHV-8 positive patients, we performed HHV-8 quantification in blood and saliva by real-time PCR and typing by Sanger sequencing of K1 open reading frame. HHV-8 seroprevalence was 19%, being male (odd ratio [OR] = 1.741, [95% Confidence interval {CI}, 0.97–3.07]; p  = 0.0581) and having multiple sex partners before HIV diagnosis (OR = 1.682, [CI 95%, 0.97–2.92]; p  = 0.0629) tended to be associated with HHV-8 seropositivity. Of the 64 HHV-8 seropositive patients, HHV-8 DNA was detected in 10 (16%) in saliva, 6 (9%) in whole-blood and in 2 (3%) in both whole-blood and saliva. Three out of 6 HHV-8 strains were subtypes A5, 2 subtype B1 and 1 subtype C. HHV-8 seroprevalence was relatively low with more frequent carriage in men, associated with asymptomatic oral excretion and a predominance of subtype A5. These data tend to support the hypothesis of horizontal transmission in people living with HIV in Brazzaville.