Prevalence and correlates of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection in a sample of men who have sex with men in eastern China

Authors

T. Zhang, Fudan University and University of Nebraska–Lincoln
H. Lin, Fudan University and Taizhou City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
V. Minhas, University of Nebraska–LincolnFollow
W. Zhu, Fudan University
Charles Wood, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
N. He, Fudan UniversityFollow

Date of this Version

2013

Citation

Epidemiol. Infect. (2013), 141, 1823–1830; doi:10.1017/S0950268812002361

Comments

Copyright © 2012 Cambridge University Press. Used by permission.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and related factors in men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. A total of 208 subjects were recruited from eastern China from 2008 to 2009. Plasma samples were collected and screened for KSHV, HIV and syphilis. Overall, KSHV seroprevalence was 32.7% in the subjects. About 92.7% of subjects reported having ever had anal sex with a man, of whom 67.8% had receptive anal sex and 77.9% had insertive anal sex. About 93.1% of the study participants reported having had oral sex with a man, of whom 76.0% had receptive oral sex and 56.7% had insertive oral sex. KSHV seropositivity was independently associated with receptive anal sex [odds ratio (OR) 2.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15–6.23], syphilis (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.56–6.76) and HSV-2 infection (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.09–5.26). KSHV infection is highly prevalent and is probably sexually transmitted among MSM in eastern China.