Submit your articles to the African Journal of Biomedical Research, active in Scopus Q3 and Clarivate Web of Science Zoological Records. Click here to submit your manuscript.
Volume 11 (2024) | Issue 5
Volume 11 (2024) | Issue 5
Volume 11 (2024) | Issue 5
Volume 11 (2024) | Issue 5
Volume 11 (2024) | Issue 5
ABSTRACT Human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) or known as Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the etiologic agent for all clinic-epidemiological forms of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS). Many studies have been documented that blood transfusion plays an important role in HHV-8 transmission. This study was prepared to determine the frequency of HHV-8 antibodies among blood donors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on ninety blood donors who attended the Iraqi National Centre for Blood Transfusion in February 2019 to detect HHV-8 IgG antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunoassay method. Anti-HHV8- IgG were detected in 78 out of 90 (86.6%) serum samples. A significant association has been found between anti-HHV-8 detection and associated risk factors in blood donors such as sexual relationships (legal and illegal), occupation, surgical and dental operations, blood transfusion, cupping, tattooing, smoking and numbers of blood donation. Our results confirmed that a high percentage of HHV8-IgG among blood donors may indicate an increased threat to HHV-8 infection via blood transfusion.