Clinical correlates of infection with human herpesvirus-6

Human herpesvirus-6 is a lymphotropic virus which infects susceptible individuals during the first year of life and usually causes life-long latency. In a variable percentage primary infections are followed by a short acute disease, exanthema subitum. Older individuals may suffer from infectious mononucleosis-like illnesses or from Kikuchi-Fujimoto's disease. In addition, there is a fairly wide spectrum of lymphoid and hematopoietic diseases or autoimmune disorders, which are associated with elevated titers of HHV-6 antibody, and from which replicating virus may be isolated. Such diseases include atypical polyclonal lymphoproliferation, Hodgkin's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and systemic lupus erythematosus. The present article reviews the current knowledge of such associations.