Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of classic Kaposi's sarcoma, seroprevalence, and variants of human herpesvirus 8 in South America: A critical review of an old disease

Classic KS in South America has a very similar clinical presentation but not the same as the classic KS variety described in the Mediterranean. Initial seroprevalence studies performed in the general population and in blood donors showed low seroprevalence of HHV-8, whereas high seroprevalence rates were seen in Amerindian population. The existing serological assays, nonetheless, need to be further refined, and new assays need to be developed. Finally, the key to understanding the precise molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic distribution of HHV-8 in South America would be to perform more subtyping of classic KS cases.