Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection, Rural Egypt1

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Human Herpesvirus 8 Infection, Rural Egypt, Salivary and nosocomial transmission are possible

Human Herpesvirus 8 Seropositivity Among Sexually Active Adults in Uganda

Sexual transmission of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) has been implicated among homosexual men, but the evidence for sexual transmission among heterosexual individuals is controversial. We investigated the role of sexual transmission of HHV8 in a nationally representative sample in Uganda, where HHV8 infection is endemic and transmitted mostly during childhood.The study population was a subset of participants (n = 2681) from a population-based HIV/AIDS serobehavioral survey of adults aged 15-59 years conducted in 2004/2005. High risk for sexual transmission was assessed by questionnaire and serological testing for HIV and herpes simplex virus 2. Anti-HHV8 antibodies were measured using two enzyme immunoassays targeting synthetic peptides from the K8.1 and orf65 viral genes. The current study was restricted to 2288 sexually active adults. ORs and 95% CIs for HHV8 seropositivity were estimated by fitting logistic regression models with a random intercept using MPLUS and SAS software.The weighted prevalence of HHV8 seropositivity was 56.2%, based on 1302 seropositive individuals, and it increased significantly with age (P(trend)<0.0001). In analyses adjusting for age, sex, geography, education, and HIV status, HHV8 seropositivity was positively associated with reporting two versus one marital union (OR:1.52, 95% CI: 1.17-1.97) and each unit increase in the number of children born (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00-1.08), and was inversely associated with ever having used a condom (OR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.45-0.89). HHV8 seropositivity was not associated with HIV (P = 0.660) or with herpes simplex virus 2 (P = 0.732) seropositivity. Other sexual variables, including lifetime number of sexual partners or having had at least one sexually transmitted disease, and socioeconomic variables were unrelated to HHV8 seropositivity.Our findings are compatible with the conclusion that sexual transmission of HHV8 in Uganda, if it occurs, is weak

The general population cohort in rural south-western Uganda: a platform for communicable and non-communicable disease studies.

The General Population Cohort (GPC) was set up in 1989 to examine trends in HIV prevalence and incidence, and their determinants in rural south-western Uganda. Recently, the research questions have included the epidemiology and genetics of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to address the limited data on the burden and risk factors for NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa. The cohort comprises all residents (52% aged ≥13years, men and women in equal proportions) within one-half of a rural sub-county, residing in scattered houses, and largely farmers of three major ethnic groups. Data collected through annual surveys include; mapping for spatial analysis and participant location; census for individual socio-demographic and household socioeconomic status assessment; and a medical survey for health, lifestyle and biophysical and blood measurements to ascertain disease outcomes and risk factors for selected participants. This cohort offers a rich platform to investigate the interplay between communicable diseases and NCDs. There is robust infrastructure for data management, sample processing and storage, and diverse expertise in epidemiology, social and basic sciences. For any data access enquiries you may contact the director, MRC/UVRI, Uganda Research Unit on AIDS by email to [email protected] or the corresponding author

Editorial: Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogen-Driven Infectious and Neoplastic Diseases

No abstract availabl

Editorial: Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogen-Driven Infectious and Neoplastic Diseases

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Cancer burden among HIV-positive persons in Nigeria: preliminary findings from the Nigerian AIDS-cancer match study

Background: Although Nigeria has a large HIV epidemic, the impact of HIV on cancer in Nigerians is unknown. Methods: We conducted a registry linkage study using a probabilistic matching algorithm among a cohort of HIV positive persons registered at health facilities where the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) provides HIV prevention and treatment services. Their data was linked to data from 2009 to 2012 in the Abuja Cancer Registry. Match compatible files with first name, last name, sex, date of birth and unique HIV cohort identification numbers were provided by each registry and used for the linkage analysis. We describe demographic characteristics of the HIV clients and compute Standardized Incidence Ratios (SIRs) to evaluate the association of various cancers with HIV infection. Results: Between 2005 and 2012, 17,826 persons living with HIV (PLWA) were registered at IHVN. Their median age (Interquartile range (IQR)) was 33 (27–40) years; 41% (7246/17826) were men and 59% (10580/17826) were women. From 2009 to 2012, 2,029 clients with invasive cancers were registered at the Abuja Cancer Registry. The median age (IQR) of the cancer clients was 45 (35–68) years. Among PLWA, 39 cancer cases were identified, 69% (27/39) were incident cancers and 31% (12/39) were prevalent cancers. The SIR (95% CI) for the AIDS Defining Cancers were 5.7 (4.1, 7.2) and 2.0 (0.4, 3.5), for Kaposi Sarcoma and Cervical Cancer respectively. Conclusion: The risk of Kaposi Sarcoma but not Cervical Cancer or Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, was significantly increased among HIV positive persons, compared to the general population in Nigeria

The Zambia Children\u27s KS-HHV8 Study: Rationale, Study Design, and Study Methods

The epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus in Zambia has led to a dramatic rise in the incidence of human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)–associated Kaposi\u27s sarcoma in both adults and children. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about the routes of HHV-8 transmission to young children. The Zambia Children\u27s KS-HHV8 Study, a large, prospective cohort study in Lusaka, Zambia, was launched in 2004 to investigate the role of household members as a source of HHV-8 infection in young children and social behaviors that may modify the risk of HHV-8 acquisition. This cohort is distinct from other epidemiologic studies designed to investigate HHV-8 incidence and transmission because it recruited and followed complete households in the urban central African context. Between July 2004 and March 2007, 1,600 households were screened; 368 households comprising 464 children and 1,335 caregivers and household members were enrolled. Follow-up of this population continued for 48 months postrecruitment, affording a unique opportunity to study horizontal transmission of HHV-8 and understand the routes and sources of transmission to young children in Zambia. The authors describe the study rationale, design, execution, and characteristics of this cohort, which provides critical data on the epidemiology and transmission of HHV-8 to young children in Zambia

HIV and cancer registry linkage identifies a substantial burden of cancers in persons with HIV in India.

We utilized computerized record-linkage methods to link HIV and cancer databases with limited unique identifiers in Pune, India, to determine feasibility of linkage and obtain preliminary estimates of cancer risk in persons living with HIV (PLHIV) as compared with the general population.Records of 32,575 PLHIV were linked to 31,754 Pune Cancer Registry records (1996-2008) using a probabilistic-matching algorithm. Cancer risk was estimated by calculating standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) in the early (4-27 months after HIV registration), late (28-60 months), and overall (4-60 months) incidence periods. Cancers diagnosed prior to or within 3 months of HIV registration were considered prevalent.Of 613 linked cancers to PLHIV, 188 were prevalent, 106 early incident, and 319 late incident. Incident cancers comprised 11.5% AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs), including cervical cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but not Kaposi sarcoma (KS), and 88.5% non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs). Risk for any incident cancer diagnosis in early, late, and combined periods was significantly elevated among PLHIV (SIRs: 5.6 [95% CI 4.6-6.8], 17.7 [95% CI 15.8-19.8], and 11.5 [95% CI 10-12.6], respectively). Cervical cancer risk was elevated in both incidence periods (SIRs: 9.6 [95% CI 4.8-17.2] and 22.6 [95% CI 14.3-33.9], respectively), while NHL risk was elevated only in the late incidence period (SIR: 18.0 [95% CI 9.8-30.20]). Risks for NADCs were dramatically elevated (SIR &gt; 100) for eye-orbit, substantially (SIR &gt; 20) for all-mouth, esophagus, breast, unspecified-leukemia, colon-rectum-anus, and other/unspecified cancers; moderately elevated (SIR &gt; 10) for salivary gland, penis, nasopharynx, and brain-nervous system, and mildly elevated (SIR &gt; 5) for stomach. Risks for 6 NADCs (small intestine, testis, lymphocytic leukemia, prostate, ovary, and melanoma) were not elevated and 5 cancers, including multiple myeloma not seen.Our study demonstrates the feasibility of using probabilistic record-linkage to study cancer/other comorbidities among PLHIV in India and provides preliminary population-based estimates of cancer risks in PLHIV in India. Our results, suggesting a potentially substantial burden and slightly different spectrum of cancers among PLHIV in India, support efforts to conduct multicenter linkage studies to obtain precise estimates and to monitor cancer risk in PLHIV in India

Infectious Agents and Cancer reviewer acknowledgement 2013

CONTRIBUTING REVIEWERS: The editor of Infectious Agents and Cancer would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 32 (2013)