Evaluation of Plasmodium falciparum malaria as a risk factor involved in human herpes virus 8 (HHV8) infection 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, mainly in Uganda, where Plasmodium falciparum malaria is a priority in public health and represents one of the most important parasitic diseases. Following primary infection HHV-8 establishes a long life persistent infection and this reflects a delicate equilibrium between viral replication and the host immune responses. The malaria infection could have an impact on HHV-8 reactivation and this suggests that may influence the transmission of Kaposi Sarcoma Associated Herpes Virus (KSHV) in endemic areas. Material/methods. Children and their mothers 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-RFLP 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; the association between categorical variables was evaluated through chi-square Pearson test; results were considered significance if p< 0.05. Results. We analyzed a sample of 259 children (46.0% male and 49.8% female) with mean age 7.1 (1