HERPES VIRUS TYPE 8

Course overview

THE HUMAN HERPESVIRUS-8 (HHV-8), ALSO CALLED KAPOSI SARCOMA HERPESVIRUS (KSHV), BELONGS TO THE FAMILY OF DNA VIRUSES HERPESEVIRIDAE. IT CAUSES KAPOSI SARCOMA (A VASCULAR MALIGNANCY) AND B CELL LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISEASES SUCH AS PRIMARY EFFUSION LYMPHOMA (PEL) AND MULTICENTRIC CASTLEMAN DISEASE (MCD). THE LIKELIHOOD OF HHV-8-ASSOCIATED MALIGNANCIES IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AMONGST INDIVIDUALS LIVING WITH HIV. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND TREATMENT OF ABDOMINAL HUMAN HERPESVIRUS-8 AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.