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The recently identified human herpesvirus 6, the cause of a common childhood disease and of illness in people with weak immune systems, has also been linked to multiple sclerosis.
ATLANTA—It is still not known whether human herpesvirus 6, which is responsible for a common childhood disease and for disease in people with weak immune systems, might cause other conditions such as multiple sclerosis, says an article in the upcoming issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC's peer reviewed journal, which tracks new and reemerging infections worldwide.
Human herpesvirus 6, identified in 1986, can be found in nearly everyone in most countries worldwide. This virus belongs to a family of eight human herpesviruses, which can cause a wide variety of symptoms and conditions, including fever, rash, cold sores, genital sores, chickenpox, mononucleosis, and shingles.
Herpesvirus 6 causes a common, usually harmless, childhood disease—roseola infantum—a fever followed by a rose-colored rash. Children recover, but the virus can multiply and survive in the body. After childhood, the virus usually does not cause illness—except in people whose immune systems are not strong, such as AIDS or organ transplant patients. For them, the virus can become reactivated and cause organ rejection or death.
This virus tends to affect nerve tissue, and scientists have looked at the link between the virus and multiple sclerosis, a disease involving degeneration of the covering of the nerves, which leads to paralysis and eventually death. Studies have found evidence of previous infection with herpesvirus 6 more often in patients with multiple sclerosis than in those without. However, the authors believe that this finding may be a sign of the disease rather than its cause. In addition, studies have not been able to find any of the virus's DNA in blood and cerebrospinal fluid or any RNA in brain tissue.
Therefore, the researchers, scientists from the University of Bologna, Italy, conclude that the "...correlation between active human herpesvirus 6 infection and multiple sclerosis is still a controversial issue rather than a firmly established conclusion." Should the virus and the disease one day become linked, multiple sclerosis patients might benefit from drugs to treat herpesvirus 6.
For more information, contact Dr. Gabriella Campadelli-Fiume at 773-702-1898 (tel). Access the full article at http://www.cdc.gov/EID/vol5no3/campadelli.htm. All material in Emerging Infectious Diseases is in the public domain and may be used without special permission; proper citation, however, is appreciated.
For more information on this or related topics, see...
B-virus from Pet Macaque Monkeys: An Emerging Threat in the United States?
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