Prevalence of Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection Measured by Antibodies to a Latent Nuclear Antigen in Patients With Various Dermatologic Diseases

Background Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been detected in all epidemiological forms of Kaposi sarcoma (KS). The role of HHV-8 in dermatologic diseases other than KS is controversial. Some studies based on polymerase chain reaction findings suggest an association between HHV-8 and epithelial tumors of the skin, lymphoproliferative disorders, or pemphigus. Objective To assess the prevalence of antibodies against a latent nuclear antigen of HHV-8 in patients with various dermatologic diseases. Design An indirect immunofluorescence assay was used to search for HHV-8 antibodies. Setting Ambulatory or hospitalized patients from a university hospital associated with a research laboratory. Patients Eighty-three patients with various non-KS dermatologic diseases and 16 patients with KS who were seronegative for the human immunodeficiency virus. Controls were 100 healthy subjects living in the same area. Results Antibodies to HHV-8 were found in 100% (16/16) of the patients with KS and 3.6% (3/83) of the patients with non-KS dermatologic diseases: 1 patient with pemphigus vulgaris, 1 with discoid lupus erythematosus, and 1 with bullous pemphigoid. The prevalence of antibodies to HHV-8 in controls was 2% (2/100) and was not significantly different than the prevalence in patients with dermatologic diseases other than KS ( P =.28). Conclusions Our serologic study confirms the higher prevalence of HHV-8 antibodies in patients with KS and demonstrates that contrary to other human herpesviruses, HHV-8 is not a ubiquitous virus in France. We could not determine any causal association between HHV-8 and pemphigus or lymphoproliferative disorders of the skin.