Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 45 7 2016 08 15 935 940 Amitis RAMEZANI Dept. of Clinical Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Elham SABOORI Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Kayhan AZADMANESH Dept. of Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Minoo MOHRAZ Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran, Iran Monireh KAZEMIMANESH Dept. of Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Afsaneh KARAMI Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Mohammad BANIFAZL Iranian Society for Support of Patients with Infectious Disease, Tehran, Iran Hanieh GOLCHEHREGAN Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Tehran, Iran Arezoo AGHAKHANI Dept. of Clinical Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran 2016 07 25 2016 07 25 Background: Kaposi’s sarcoma is a vascular malignancy, which frequently occurs among immunocompromised individuals such as transplant recipients and patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is considered the etiological agent of all forms of Kaposi’s sarcoma. Though some seroepidemiological studies conducted on the prevalence of HHV-8 in Iran, there are insufficient data on the prevalence of HHV-8 viremia in HIV infected patients. We therefore, aimed to determine the prevalence of HHV-8 viremia in general population and HIV infected patients without Kaposi’s sarcoma in Tehran, Iran. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional survey on 99 patients with HIV infection referred to Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS and 40 healthy controls in Tehran, Iran from January to April 2014. The presence of HHV-8 DNA was detected in buffy coat samples of enrolled subjects using nested PCR assay. Results: A total of 99 HIV infected patients with mean age of 37.9±10 yr and 40 healthy controls with mean age of 39±11.5 yr were enrolled in the study. The mean CD4 count was 410.3± 211.4 cells/mm3. HHV-8 DNA was not detected in both healthy control and HIV patient groups. Conclusion: This survey showed low rate of HHV-8 DNA in healthy controls and HIV patients. Considering our findings HHV-8 infection does not seem to be widespread in our population. Further studies focusing on different regions of Iran appear to be required to have a more accurate estimation.     https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/7327 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/7327/5466