[Infection by human herpesvirus type 6 (HHV-6) and renal transplantation]

Human herpes virus type 6 (HHV-6) infection was serologically investigated in renal transplant recipients. Before transplantation, 75.5% of patients was seropositive for HHV-6 and no correlation with age, sex and time on dialysis was found. During the first month after transplantation 66% of patients showed a variation in serological status against HHV-6 (seroconversion or fourfold increase of antibody titer). All patients who seroconverted had received the kidney from a HHV-6 seropositive donor, furthermore, in 11/13 (84.6%) pairs of patients receiving the kidney form the same seropositive donor, both members or had HHV-6 active infection or had no infection. The frequency of HHV-6 active infection in seropositive patients is almost the same in case of seronegative or seropositive donor. Comparing HHV-6 and CMV infections, they resulted independent as CMV infection in these patients occurs in a following period (II-III month). Notwithstanding a higher frequency of kidney rejection in patients with active HHV-6 infection, no significative correlation was found.