Kissing may spread Kaposi’s sarcoma Virus that causes AIDS-related cancer

[synderella420]

Report from MSNBC

HERPES VIRUS 8 was discovered six years ago and causes a skin cancer called Kaposi’s sarcoma, which causes purple skin blotches and can also attack the internal organs. In the United States, the cancer occurs almost exclusively in people with AIDS.

Some had suspected that the virus was transmitted through sexual intercourse, but the new research from the University of Washington, reported in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine, contradicts that idea.

Doctors had already known that the herpes strain is found in 11 percent to 20 percent of otherwise healthy gay men. Among men infected with the AIDS virus, the rate ranges from 30 percent to 54 percent.

Dr. John Pauk and others tested 39 gay men who were infected with the herpes virus but did not have Kaposi’s sarcoma. They found the virus in 30 percent of their saliva samples and mouth swabs, compared with 1 percent of anal and genital samples. When present, the virus levels were also much higher in saliva than in semen.

“The important thing is it suggests that oral-oral contact plays some role in transmission, although more study is needed to confirm that,” Pauk said.

The study also found that homosexual men who engaged in “deep kissing” — kissing that involves a lot of contact with saliva — appeared to be at substantially higher risk of catching the virus.

Kissing is not generally considered a high-risk behavior for passing sexually transmitted diseases.

“Our findings suggest that safer sex practices, such as consistent use of condoms, although important in preventing other sexually transmitted infections, may not protect against [herpes virus 8] the researchers said.

he findings are especially significant for people who have AIDS. In healthy people, the virus generally does not cause illness. But like many other diseases that kill people with AIDS, it usually affects those with weakened immune systems. Thirty percent to 50 percent of HIV-infected people who catch herpes virus 8 will eventually get Kaposi’s sarcoma.

The research “definitely has public health implications for people infected with HIV,” said Dr. Ronald O. Valdiserri of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, he said there was not enough data to recommend that people with HIV avoid deep kissing.

Kaposi’s sarcoma has been present for centuries in Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But it was rare in the United States until the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.

Experts say the virus is still largely confined to homosexuals in the United States, and that is why kissing has not yet spread herpes virus 8 among heterosexuals.

Dr. Anna Wald, another University of Washington researcher, noted that herpes virus 8 is closely related to the common Epstein Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis, long known as the kissing disease.

“Teen-agers tend to get this when they start kissing,” she said. “The reason they get Epstein Bar virus and not herpes virus 8 is that most people have Epstein Bar virus, but relatively few have herpes virus 8.”

Dr. Patrick S. Moore of Columbia University, who discovered the virus, said exposure to saliva may explain the high rate of infection in parts of Africa, where more than 70 percent of people may carry herpes virus 8.

Other forms of the herpes virus cause chicken pox, shingles, cold sores and genital herpes.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Dave can we make a Health Forum??

Just a suggestion..

Scary !!

:eek:

[georgym]

Originally posted by synderella420

Dave can we make a Health Forum??

Just a suggestion..

Scary !!

:eek:

yeah, after reading that update, I concur with you, kim. Diseases are constantly evolving, and we need to be up to date on this and other forms of diseases contracted by sex or :gasp: simple kissing

Freakin scary!

[jennEfer]

EWWWWWWW.... things like this make me glad that I have a boyfriend and that he is the only one that I kiss/touch/make love to, etc. Neither of us are diseased, nor do we cheat, so I am safe.

[teklord310]

FUCK. Gotta watch out, no more Frenching without proper blood work. Yeah right... Imagine asking a hookup if they are clean before kissing. Scary stuff. But I don't understand, does this only apply to gay men? Why didn't they conduct tests on straight couples?

[realz]

Damn.... no more hooking up....