Prevalence of HHV-8 Antibodies among HIV Infected Patients

Abstract

Background: There is a widespread believe that the seroprevalence of HHV-8 in HIV infected persons are higher
than the general population. This study seeks to found out the seroprevalence of HHV-8 antibodies among HIV
infected patients in Edo State, South- South Nigeria.
Materials and Method: The sera of HIV infected and non HIV infected persons were tested with double ELISA
(Genscreen ultra HIV Ag-Ab ELISA and JN HIV-1/2 ELISA KIT) for HIV screening and HHV-8 testing was
done using Advanced Biotechnology Incorporated ELISA for HHV-8 IgG antibody detection.
Results: The antibodies for HHV-8 was positive in 126 (70%) of 180 recruited for the study. The HIV positive
study group were 100 out of which 87 (87%) were positive for HHV-8 antibodies. The sero-positivity of HHV-8
among the 80 HIV negative control group was 39 (48.8%). There was statistically significant association
between HIV and HHV-8 at P ? 0.0001. The odds Ratio OR of 7.04 at 95% CI (3.21- 15.64) indicates that
HHV-8 positivity is more in HIV infected persons than those who were HIV negative. The relative risk ratio RR
of 1.74; 95% CI (1.14- 2.26) also indicates that those with HIV infection are at a higher risk of acquiring HHV-8
infection.
Conclusion: There is a high seroprevalence of HHV-8 antibodies among people living with HIV/AIDS. This
may not be in connection with route of transmission when compared to similar studies carried out by other
researches in Africa.