Most Herpesvirus Infections Have Minimal Effect on HIV Disease Progression

With the exception of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), which is known to be associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), concurrent infection with multiple herpesviruses does not appear to have a significant impact on HIV disease progression.

That's according to a report in the February issue of the Journal of Medical Virology by Dr. Barbara Suligoi of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita in Rome and colleagues. The effect of herpesvirus infections on HIV progression is "controversial," the team notes, with some studies suggesting accelerated progression, while others showing no effect, they explain.

"Furthermore, the effect of concurrent infection with more than one herpesvirus on the progression of HIV disease has never been investigated," they write.

Dr. Suligoi's team determined the rates of HIV progression in 359 HIV-positive participants in the Italian Seroconversion Study who were grouped according to the presence of antibodies to up to five herpesviruses: HSV-2, human herpesvirus 5 (CMV), HHV-6, HHV-7, and HHV-8.

During the study period, 137 (38.2%) of subjects progressed to AIDS. In multivariate analyses, only infection with HHV-8 was significantly associated with progression to AIDS.

"The age-adjusted risk of progression to AIDS with KS increased with the number of herpesvirus infections and was significant in individuals with four infections," the team reports, with a relative hazard ratio of 11.40. "The risk of progression to AIDS without KS also increased with the number of herpesvirus infections, although not significantly," they add.

The Italian team concludes, based on their study, that after excluding HHV-8, co-infection with more than one herpesviruses does not appear to strongly modify the course of HIV disease.

02/28/03

J Med Virol 2003;69:182-187.