ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is known to reactivate after renal transplantation and has been associated with several clinical manifestations. Risk factors for sustained viral replication, however, remain unclear. METHODS: Thirty consecutive kidney transplant patients were prospectively followed for HHV-6 replication between February 2007 and February 2008. Plasma samples for DNA detection were collected from the donor and the recipient before transplantation and from the recipient weekly for the first 2 months after transplantation and then every 2 weeks for 2 additional months. HHV-6 active infection was defined as detection of viral DNA in plasma, by polymerase chain reaction, in at least two consecutive samples over an interval of at least 1 week. RESULTS: Active viral infection was detected in 25% of the recipients before transplantation and 27% (8 of 30) of the patients after transplantation. The mean time to onset of viral replication was 28.1 days after transplantation and 7 of 8 (87.5%) were asymptomatic. Risk factors associated with active HHV-6 infection were receiving an organ from a living donor (P=0.028), recipients with IgM antibodies detected before transplantation (P=0.005), and pretransplantation recipient HHV-6 viral load more than 10,000 copies/mL plasma (P=0.034). CONCLUSIONS: Active HHV-6 infection occurs early after renal transplantation and is mostly asymptomatic. Donor or recipient infection may occur at the time of transplantation and are related to higher rates of posttransplantation infections.
