Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus 8 in kidney transplant recipients in a single-center study from Tunisia.

Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) is a herpesvirus that is always associated with Kaposi sarcoma. An enzyme-linked immunoenzymatic assay was used to detect antibodies to the latent nuclear antigen of HHV8 in kidney transplant patients and kidney transplant candidates from Tunisia. A significantly high HHV8 seroprevalence was documented; 17% of kidney transplant patients and 23% in kidney transplant candidates were seropositive. This is a first report of HHV8 in Tunisia.