1. ¹Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología, Havana, Cuba
2. ²Dipartimento di Epidemiologia, Istituto Nazionale per le Malattie Infettive L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Rome, Italy
3. ³Centro Operativo AIDS, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
4. ⁴Unit of Field and Intervention Studies, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France
5. ⁵Istituto di Malattie Infettive, Università di Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

Correspondence: D Serraino, Department of Epidemiology, INMI L. Spallanzani, IRCCS, Via Portuense 292, 00149 Rome, Italy. E-mail: serraino@spallanzani.roma.it

Received 27 March 2002; Revised 14 August 2002; Accepted 4 September 2002.

Abstract

Infection with human herpesvirus type 8 and with human T-cell leukaemia virus type-1 shows strong geographic variations. We conducted this study to assess prevalence and risk factors for human herpesvirus type 8 infection in Havana City, Cuba. Information and residual serum samples already collected for a hospital based case–control study were used. A total of 379 individuals (267 males and 112 females; median age=63 years) were evaluated. Antibodies to the lytic antigen of human herpesvirus type 8 were detected by using an immunofluorescence assay, while human T-cell leukaemia virus type-1 serology was performed by means of an ELISA test (alpha Biotech). Overall, 64 subjects (16.9%, 95% confidence interval: 13.1–20.0) were positive for human herpesvirus type 8 antibodies. Human herpesvirus type 8 seroprevalence significantly increased with age (odds ratio=1.9 for 65 vs <55 years), and was twice as frequent in blacks than in whites. No association emerged with gender, socio-economic indicators, family size, history of sexually transmitted disease, sexual behaviour. Overall, 16 persons had anti-human T-cell leukaemia virus type-1 antibodies (4.2%, 95% confidence interval: 2.2–6.4). No relationship emerged between human T-cell leukaemia virus type-1 and human herpesvirus type 8 serostatus. The study findings indicate that human herpesvirus type 8 infection is relatively common in Havana City, Cuba, suggesting that Cuba may represent an intermediate endemical area. Sexual transmission does not seem to play a major role in the spread human herpesvirus type 8 infection.