Risk factors for early childhood infection of human herpesvirus-8 in Zambian children: The role of early childhood feeding practices
Date
2014-02
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
American Association for Cancer Research
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection in early childhood is common
throughout sub-Saharan Africa with prevalence increasing throughout childhood.
Specific routes of transmission have not been clearly delineated, though HHV-8 is
present in high concentrations in saliva. METHODS: To understand the horizontal transmission of HHV-8 within households to children, we enrolled for cross-sectional analysis, 251 households including 254 children, age two and under, in Lusaka, Zambia. For all children, plasma was screened for HHV-8 and HIV type I (HIV-1) and health and behavioral questionnaires were completed. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was
conducted to assess independent factors for HHV-8 infection in children. RESULTS: Risk factors for HHV-8 infection included increasing number of HHV-8-positive household members [OR = 2.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.9-3.3; P < 0.01] and having a primary caregiver who tested the temperature of food with their tongue before feeding the child (OR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.93-3.30; P =0.01). Breastfeeding was protective against infection with HHV-8 for children (OR= 0.3; 95% CI, 0.16-0.72; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that exposure to HHV-8 in the household increases risk for early childhood infection, with specific feeding behaviors likely playing a role in transmission. IMPACT: Interventions to protect children from infection should emphasize the possibility of infection through sharing of foods.
Description
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version, Crabtree KL, Wojcicki JM, Minhas V, Smith DR, Kankasa C, Mitchell CD, Wood C. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Feb;23(2):300-8. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965, is available online at http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/23/2/300.long.
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Article
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Keywords
Human herpesvirus 8, Kaposi’s sarcoma, Herpesviridae Infections, Feeding behavior, Africa, Sub-Saharan, Zambia
Citation
Crabtree KL, Wojcicki JM, Minhas V, Smith DR, Kankasa C, Mitchell CD, Wood C. Risk factors for early childhood infection of human herpesvirus-8 in Zambian children: the role of early childhood feeding practices. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2014 Feb;23(2):300-8. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0730.