Deciphering Early Childhood Infection by the Kapsosi's sarcoma Associated Human Herpesvirus in Zambia
Abstract
Human herpesviruses are large double-stranded DNA viruses that are ubiquitous in nature. There are currently eight known human herpesviruses belonging to three subfamilies: alpha, beta and gamma herpesvirinae. They were subdivided based on morphology, biological properties, genome structure and sequence homology. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), is the most recently described human herpesvirus. HHV-8 was co-discovered by Chang and Moore in 1994, from lesions of a Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) patient by representational differential analysis. HHV-8 DNA sequences in the KS tissue, which were not found in normal skin tissue, could then be amplified. Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) is the infectious etiologic agent of all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma and multicentric Castleman's disease. KS is an AIDS-defining illness and is the most common malignancy present in HIV infected patients. During the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, KS was the most common AIDS-defining illness. In fact, it was the sudden appearance of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and shortly thereafter, the appearance of high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in a handful of young homosexual men who otherwise were in good health signalled the start of the AIDS epidemic. Due to the ongoing HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, KS has become one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in this region. Global seroprevalence of HHV-8 varies greatly and is generally high in areas where non-HIV associated forms of KS (classic or endemic forms) have been common. HHV-8 seroprevalence in the United States and Northern Europe is generally low but ranges from 20 to 80 percent in adult populations in Africa and Mediterranean regions. Zambia is a part of the “KS belt” where endemic KS was prevalent and where a significant increase in KS incidence in adults and children has coincided with the emergence of the HIV-1 epidemic. By 1992, KS accounted for approximately 25% of all childhood cancers diagnosed in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. The modes of transmission of HHV-8 may be different in different parts of the world depending on the endemicity of that region and are still being investigated but both horizontal and vertical transmission has been reported. Horizontal transmission via heterosexual and homosexual contact has been reported in adults. Vertical transmission to children seems to occur at a very low rate; a likely source of non-sexual transmission is via saliva, and rare transmission may occur also through breast milk. A report from Uganda has provided evidence for HHV-8 transmission through blood transfusion. HHV-8 can be found in the PBMCs, saliva, oropharyngeal mucosa, semen and prostate glands which represent the source of both vertical and horizontal transmission.References
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2. Chang Y, Cesarman E, Pessin MS, et al. Identification of herpesvirus-like DNAsequences in AIDS-associated Kaposi's sarcoma. Science 1994;266:1865-9
3. Cesarman E, Chang Y, Moore PS, Said JWand Knowles DM. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-like DNAsequences in AIDS-related body-cavity-based lymphomas. N Engl J Med 1995;332:1186-91
4. SchulzTF. Kaposi'ssarcoma-associatedherpesvirus (human herpesvirus-8). J Gen Virol 1998;79 ( Pt 7):1573-91
5. Soulier J, Grollet L, Oksenhendler E, et al. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-like DNAsequences in multicentric Castleman's disease. Blood 1995;86:1276-80
6. Sunil M, Reid E and Lechowicz MJ. Update on HHV-8-AssociatedMalignancies.CurrInfectDisRep2010;12:147-154
7. Ziegler JL, Bragg K, Abrams D, et al. High-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in patients with AIDS. Ann N YAcad Sci 1984;437:412-9
8. Feller L, Khammissa RA, Gugushe TS, et al. HIV-associated Kaposi sarcoma in African children. SADJ 2010;65:20-2
9. Cook-Mozaffari P, Newton R, Beral Vand Burkitt DP. The geographical distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma and of lymphomas in Africa before the AIDS epidemic. Br J Cancer 1998;78:1521-8
10. Blauvelt A, Sei S, Cook PM, Schulz TF and Jeang KT. Humanherpesvirus8infectionoccursfollowingadolescenceintheUnitedStates.JInfectDis1997;176:771-4
11. Dedicoat M, Newton R. Review of the distribution of Kaposi's sarcoma-associatedherpesvirus (KSHV)in Africa in relation to the incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma. Br J Cancer 2003;88:1-3
12. Gao SJ, Kingsley L, Li M, et al. KSHV antibodies among Americans, Italians and Ugandans with and without Kaposi's sarcoma. Nat Med 1996;2:925-8
13. Martro E, Bulterys M, Stewart JA, et al. Comparison of human herpesvirus 8 and Epstein-Barr virus seropositivity among children in areas endemic and non-endemic for Kaposi's sarcoma. J Med Virol 2004;72:126-31
14. Pellett PE, Wright DJ, Engels EA, et al. Multicenter comparison of serologic assays and estimation of human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence among US blood donors. Transfusion 2003;43:1260-8
15. Weiss RA, Whitby D, Talbot S, Kellam Pand Boshoff C. Human herpesvirus type 8 and Kaposi's sarcoma. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 1998:51-4
16. BayleyAC.Occurrence,clinicalbehaviourandmanagement of Kaposi's sarcoma in Zambia. Cancer Surv 1991;10:53-71
17. Patil P, Elem B and Zumla A. Pattern of adult malignancies inZambia(1980-1989)inlightofthehumanimmunodeficiency virus type 1 epidemic. J Trop Med Hyg 1995;98:281-4JABS 2012; 1(1): 43-46.
18. Patil PS, Elem B, Gwavava NJ and Urban MI. The pattern of paediatric malignancy in Zambia (1980-1989): a hospital-based histopathological study. J Trop Med Hyg 1992;95:124-7
19. Chintu C, Athale UH and Patil PS. Childhood cancers in Zambia before and after the HIVepidemic. Arch Dis Child 1995;73:100-4
20. Kedes DH, Operskalski E, Busch M, Kohn R, Flood J and Ganem D. The seroepidemiology of human herpesvirus 8 (Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus): distribution of infection in KS risk groups and evidence for sexual transmission. Nat Med 1996;2:918-24
21. Mantina H, Kankasa C, Klaskala W, et al. Vertical ransmission of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. Int J Cancer 2001;94:749-52
22. Mbulaiteye SM, Pfeiffer RM, Whitby D, Brubaker GR, Shao J and Biggar RJ. Human herpesvirus 8 infection withinfamiliesinruralTanzania.JInfectDis2003;187:1780-5
23. Cannon MJ, Dollard SC, Smith DK, et al. Blood-borne and sexual transmission of human herpesvirus 8 in women with or at risk for human immunodeficiency virus infection. NEngl J Med 2001;344:637-43
Published
2012-03-31
How to Cite
1.
Minhas V, Kankasa C, Crabtree K, Gondwe C, Wood C. Deciphering Early Childhood Infection by the Kapsosi’s sarcoma Associated Human Herpesvirus in Zambia. Journal of Agricultural and Biomedical Sciences [Internet]. 31Mar.2012 [cited 31Jul.2025];1(1):43-6. Available from: https://journals.unza.zm/index.php/JABS/article/view/336
Section
Biomedical Sciences
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