Human herpesvirus-6 and human herpesvirus-7 infections in bone marrow transplant recipients

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Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), human herpesvirus‐6 (HHV‐6), and human herpesvirus‐7 (HHV‐7) DNA in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) of 61 bone marrow transplant recipients was monitored weekly during the first 12 weeks post‐transplantation by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Thirty‐seven (61%), 17 (28%), and 32 (53%) of patients had one or more PBL specimens positive for HCMV, HHV‐6 or HHV‐7 DNA, respectively. HHV‐7 DNA in PBL during the early post‐transplant period was associated with a longer time to neutrophil engraftment (mean 28.8 days vs 19.8 days; P = 0.01). In two patients who failed to engraft, HHV‐6 DNA and HHV‐7 DNA was detected in plasma and PBL, respectively, early in their post‐transplant period. Patients with HCMV disease were more likely to have concurrent HHV‐7 DNA in PBL prior to onset of disease than were patients with asymptomatic HCMV infection, suggesting that HHV‐7 may be a cofactor in the progression from HCMV infection to HCMV disease. In the 17 patients (179 specimens) in whom viral DNA in plasma was studied (in addition to PBL), a positive result was found only in 3. In each, viral DNA in plasma appeared to correlate with clinically significant disease. HHV‐7 DNA in plasma was associated with encephalitis in an allograft recipient. J. Med. Virol. 53:295–305, 1997. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.