Seroprevalence of human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) in blood donors at Laquintinie Hospital of Douala (LHD), Cameroon

Background: The Human Herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8), also called Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic virus. Its prevalence is high in many sub-Saharan African countries and some Asian areas. HHV-8 is transmitted through saliva and is acquired in early childhood. HHV-8 can also be transmitted sexually and by organ transplant or blood transfusion. Cameroon is an endemic area. That is why, for improving transfusion safety purpose, we assessed the HHV-8 infection rate in blood donors since the risk of transmission by blood transfusion was shown. Material and methods: Blood samples were collected from blood donors at Laquintinie Hospital of Douala (Cameroon) blood bank for 5 months. Participants were from different ages. Collected samples were tested for detection of antibodies against HHV-8 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data analysis was perform and P-value of 0.05 was statistical significance threshold. Results: Our result showed 2.2 % (2/91) seroprevalence rate of HHV-8 in blood donors. The two positive results were single and male-gendered. These observations were not statistically significant (P=0.6959 and P=0.851 respectively). Males were the most represented of our participants (92.31%). The mean age of our subject was 29±7 years. None of the studied population were at risk of HHV-8 infection. However, young adults aged between 18 to 28 years (54.94%) were the most represented. No evident association with socio-demographic data such as age, sex, level of education, and marital status was observed. Though, the high the educational level was the fewer we had volunteers for blood donation. Also, the number of blood donors decreased in an age-depending manner. Conclusion: Thus in our study, the HHV-8 infection rate was low in blood donors. Even though the potential risk of transmission might be low, we should consider HHV-8 infection check in some special cases such as immunodeficiency.