Novel human herpesvirus 8 subtype D strains in Vanuatu, Melanesia.

Olivier Cassar (1, 2) , Philippe V. Afonso (1) , Sylviane Bassot (1) , Sabine Plancoulaine (1, 3) , Renan Duprez (1) , Corinne Capuano (4) , Myriam Abel (5) , Paul M. V. Martin (2) , Antoine Gessain (1)

1 Epidémiologie et Physiopathologie des Virus Oncogènes
2 Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie
3 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale USSO
4 OMS / WHO - Organisation Mondiale de la Santé / World Health Organization Office
5 Ministry of Health

We show human herpesvirus 8 with diverse molecular subtype D variants to be highly endemic among the Ni-Vanuatu population. Most K1 genes were nearly identical to Polynesian strains, although a few clustered with Australian or Taiwanese strains. These results suggest diverse origins of the Ni-Vanuatu population and raise questions about the ancient human population movements in Melanesia.

Domains: Microbiology and Parasitology

Olivier Cassar, Philippe V. Afonso, Sylviane Bassot, Sabine Plancoulaine, Renan Duprez, et al.. Novel human herpesvirus 8 subtype D strains in Vanuatu, Melanesia.. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2007, 13 (11), pp.1745-8. ⟨10.3201/eid1311.070636⟩. ⟨pasteur-00531335⟩