Herpes 8 Spread Through Kissing

B O S T O N, Nov. 9 -- A form of the herpes virus that causes anAIDS-related skin cancer appears to be spread through kissing.

The virus known as herpes virus 8, which was discovered sixyears ago, causes a skin cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma. Between 30percent and 50 percent of HIV-infected people who catch herpesvirus 8 will eventually get Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Kaposi’s sarcoma has been recognized for centuries in SouthernEurope, the Middle East and Africa. But it was rare in the UnitedStates until the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s andoccurs almost exclusively in people with AIDS.

Until now, it has been unclear how the virus spreads, althoughsome suspected it is transmitted through sexual intercourse.However, new research from the University of Washington contradictsthat idea.

Dr. John Pauk and others tested 39 gay men who were infectedwith the virus but did not have Kaposi’s sarcoma. They found thevirus in 30 percent of their saliva samples and mouth swabs,compared with 1 percent of anal and genital samples. When present,the virus levels were also much higher in saliva than in semen.

“The important thing is it suggests that oral-oral contactplays some role in transmission, although more study is needed toconfirm that,” said Pauk.

High Rate of Infection in Africa

The study also found that those who engaged in “deep kissing” — open-mouth kissing that involves a lot of contact with saliva —appeared to be at substantially higher than usual risk of catchingherpes virus 8.

Dr. Patrick S. Moore of Columbia University in New York, whodiscovered the virus, said exposure to saliva may explain the highrate of infection in parts of Africa, where more than 70 percent ofpeople may carry herpes virus 8.

Kaposi’s sarcoma causes purple skin blotches and can also attackthe internal organs. Like many other diseases that kill people withAIDS, it usually gets established only in those who have weakenedimmune systems. The virus alone rarely causes sickness among peoplewith normal disease defenses.