Osservazioni sui fattori di rischio coinvolti nell'infezione da Human herpes Virus (HHV-8) associati alla malaria da Plasmodium falciparum in Uganda

Background. Human herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) is the causal agent of Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) and it is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and also in Uganda, where Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a priority in public health and represents one of the most important parasitic diseases (1). Following primary infection HHV-8, as all the herpesviridae, establishes a long life persistent infection also in a latent stage that bring to a delicate equilibrium between viral replication and the host immune responses. We investigated how is prevalent the malaria infection in children and if could have an impact on HHV-8 reactivation and also an influence in the transmission of Kaposi Sarcoma Associated Herpes Virus (KSHV) in endemic areas (2,3). Material/methods. Children were enrolled during cross-sectional surveys performed in two different zones of Uganda: Kampala suburbs (Central-Southern Uganda) and in rural sites of Karamoja region (North-Eastern Uganda). Fingerpick blood samples and saliva samples were spotted on Whatman grade 1 filter papers at the time of the field survey and then air-dried before being separately stored in sealed plastic containers. From each sample, the presence of P. falciparum DNA was investigated by nested PCR and the presence of HHV8 DNA was detected by Real Time PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with the application of descriptive methods (means, SD, and percentage) and 95% confidence interval. Results. We analyzed a sample of 259 children (46.0% male and 49.8% female) with mean age of 7.1 (1<13) years. P. falciparum DNA was detected in 36.7% (95% C. I. 31.0 – 42.7) of samples, while HHV8-DNA in 5.8 % (95% C.I. 9.8 – 24.4). The coinfection was detected in 8.3% showing that a decrease in host immune response due to coinfection, affecting the host, in this case malaria, could represent a possible risk factor for infection or reactivation of latent HHV-8. Conclusions. So far our results show some initial evidence that the immune response due to malaria infection, could represent a possible risk factor for the infection or reactivation of latent HHV-8. Anyway further studies are needed investigating other Africa sub-Saharan countries where the diseases are endemic.