• Imene Handous, Naila Hannachi, Bechir Achour, Manel Marzouk, Olfa Hazgui, Saloua Yacoub, Abderrahim Khelif, and Jalel Boukadida.
• Université de Sfax, Ecole nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax, 3038, Sfax, Tunisie.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Mar 1; 23 (1): 504510504-510.

BackgroundHuman herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) has been linked to the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)and multiple other hematologic malignant disorders. However, the role of HHV-8 in acute leukemia patients is unknown.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 in Tunisian acute leukemia patients and in healthy blood donors.MethodsAn indirect immunofluorescence test was used to detect the presence of anti-HHV8 antibodies. Nested PCR was used for the detection of HHV-8 DNAemia in samples of plasma.ResultsThe seroprevalence of HHV-8 was significantly higher in acute leukemia patients (21,4% ,15/70) than in healthy blood donors (7,1%, 5/70), (p= 0.02). Gender, type of disease, status of disease, prior blood transfusion, and outcome were not associated with HHV-8 seroprevalence. However, among acute leukemia patients, HHV-8 seroprevalence was statistically associated with older age > 40 years of age, (p=0.002). HHV-8 DNAemia was detected (1,4%) in only one patient of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and none of the healthy blood donors.ConclusionsThe seroprevalence of HHV-8 infection in Tunisian adult acute leukemia patients was three times as high compared to healthy blood donors, suggesting that patients with acute leukemia might be at increased risk of HHV-8 infection.© 2023 Handous I et al.

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