Abstract
Human herpesvirus (HHV) 8 or Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the newest member of the HHV family, discovered almost a decade ago in Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) tissue (1–3). Since it was first identified in KS and is linked to this disease, it is thus termed KSHV. This virus was also the eighth HHV identified; therefore, it is also commonly known as HHV-8. HHV can be divided into three subgroups: the α, β, and γ-herpesvirus. The γ-herpesviruses are able to infect human lymphocytes and can be further subdivided into two subgroups, γ-1 or lymphocrytovirus and β-2 or rhadinovirus. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the prototype β-1 virus, and the simian herpesvirus saimiri is the prototype β-2 herpesvirus (4). HHV-8 is classified as a β-2 rhadinovirus and is the first human virus of this subfamily identified (5). Like other herpesviruses, HHV-8 is a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus. Its genome is linear, is about 165 kbp in length, and contains at least 87 viral genes (6–8).