High KSHV prevalence among HIV‐infected males in North India

Abstract

Background: Kaposi sarcoma is the most common cancer associated with AIDS worldwide. HIV is endemic in India but there are no studies on this co-infection from India. Our present study examined the seroprevalence of HHV8 infections in adult Indian males infected with HIV. Methods: The study was carried out at AIIMS, a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. We enrolled 93 HIV-positive males naïve of ART. We employed whole virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ELISA; Advanced Biotechnologies Inc, Columbia, MD, USA. A univariate analysis including age, marital status, mode of HIV transmission and CD4 count were used to determine variables associated with HHV8 seropositivity. Significant variables were adjusted in a logistic regression model expressed in odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The seroprevalence of KSHV infection was 33.3% in HIV-1 infected males. HHV8 seropositivity in HIV-infected males. Age was independently associated with the age group >25 years OR=9.5; 95% CI=1.98-45.75. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings showed high rates of KSHV antibody prevalence in the male cohort of suggesting that KSHV infection may be markedly associated with HIV-1 infection in India especially in the heterosexual group. However, a further KSHV seroepidemiological survey; including a representative number of Indian cohorts of HIV-1-infected outpatients, is needed to further confirm our present findings. (Published: 11 November 2012) Citation: Abstracts of the Eleventh International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection Munawwar A et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15 (Suppl 4):18120 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/18120 http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.6.18120