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The Epidemiology Of Human Herpesvirus-8: Transmission Of Infection To Children In Zambian Households, Kay L. Crabtree
The Epidemiology Of Human Herpesvirus-8: Transmission Of Infection To Children In Zambian Households, Kay L. Crabtree
School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Human Herpes virus-8 (HHV-8) is the known etiologic agent for several malignant pathologies, including Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), the most common tumor in children in sub-Saharan Africa. Saliva is implicated as the culprit of transmission; however there is a paucity of information regarding transmission to young children. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that household behaviors exposing the susceptible child to saliva increase the risk of transmission of HHV-8 to that child.
To test our hypothesis a large prospective cohort study in Lusaka, Zambia, enrolling 464 young children and their households, was followed for 48 months. Socio-demographics, health histories, feeding …