Detection and Genotyping of HHV-8 in Australia and Kenya: Disease Associations with Special reference to Kaposi's Sarcoma and Castleman's Disease

Abstract

HHV-8, the aetiological agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), multicentric Castleman’s disease (MCD) and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) has been characterised in several parts of the world but largely overlooked in Australia, perhaps because highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has drastically reduced the incidence of HHV-8-associated diseases in the most at-risk population, namely those with HIV disease. Previously, Australian researchers have looked briefly at the sexual behaviours associated with risk of transmission of HHV-8, at molecular methods for detecting the presence of this virus, and have genotyped just eight clinical isolates. Now, the re-emergence of HHV-8 disease associated with increased lifespan in HIV-positive individuals has created a need to better understand the biological importance of this virus, including in Australia and in the developing world. While report of KS and HHV-8 have been previously published from Australia, this project establishes the first research group devoted to the understanding of HHV-8 from an Australian perspective, develops validated quantitative molecular detection methods for HHV-8 in blood and oral fluids, and then characterises the viruses detected via phylogenetic analyses.