HHV-8 Peripheral-Blood Viral Load and the Titer of Antibodies against HHV-8

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Abstract
In their letter to the editor, Sitas et al. (June 17 issue)1 report a relation between the titers of anti–human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) antibodies in mothers and the prevalence of anti–HHV-8 antibodies in their children. The authors explain this relation by suggesting that high titers of antibodies against HHV-8 indicate a large number of HHV-8–infected cells in the peripheral blood (i.e., a large viral load). Likewise, in their editorial in the same issue, Jaffe and Pellett2 suggest that the correlation between high titers of HHV-8 antibodies and an increased risk of Kaposi's sarcoma, reported by Sitas et al. in a separate article in the June 17 issue,3 reflects an increase in the viral load in persons with Kaposi's sarcoma. We present preliminary data that contradict this proposed relation between the titer of antibodies against HHV-8 and the HHV-8 viral load.