Human Herpesvirus 8 in Solid Organ Transplant Donors and Recipients: Need for Screening? A Dutch Seroprevalence Pilot Study

Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) also called Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is endemic worldwide. It is particularly pathogenic in immunocompromised patients. HHV8 related disease is a rare but dreaded complication in Solid Organ Transplant (SOT) recipients. Particularly donor-derived HHV8 infections can be life threatening and have a high mortality rate. Early recognition is crucial and therefore screening of the highest risk SOT patients could lead to better outcomes. We conducted a pilot study on the seroprevalence of HHV8 in our donor and recipient populations, to calculate the risk for HHV-8 related infections and to evaluate our current screening strategy. A total of 144 donors and 145 recipients were tested with the Indirect fluorescence assay for HHV8 Lytic IgG antibody. Seroprevalence in donors was 2.8% and 10.3% in recipients. This gives a 2.5% chance of donor positive/recipient negative (D+R-) combination, of whom a minority will develop symptomatic disease. Based on this data screening does not seem to be warranted in our center. Further multicenter studies are necessary to gain better insight in risk for symptomatic HHV8 infection in our SOT patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMCG Research Register PaNaMa.