Increased human herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence in young homosexual men who have multiple sex contacts with different partners

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavioral risks that are associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection in a cohort of young homosexual men. Seventy-nine subjects (ages 22-33 years) who completed a questionnaire about their sexual and drug use behavior over the preceding year were recruited from the San Francisco Young Men's Health Study. Plasma samples were tested for anti-HHV-8 antibodies using an indirect IFA. Thirty- eight subjects (48.1%) were infected with HHV-8. HHV-8 infection was significantly linked to an increasing number of male sex partners (P = .025, Mantel-Haenszel χ2 test for trend), suggesting a strong association between HHV-8 infection and multiple homosexual contacts.