Detection of Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in Saliva of Healthy Adults in Malaysia

Background: Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) levels have been considered as markers for various diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of HHV-6 infection in healthy adults in Malaysia. Methods: The level of HHV-6 in saliva was investigated in 36 healthy adults, age 19 to 23 years, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia using variant-specific TaqmanTM quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Results: The amount of HHV-6 DNA in the saliva of healthy adults ranged from negative to 10,000 HHV-6 genomes/ml of saliva (median, 360 genomes/ml of saliva). Of the 36 samples tested, 30 (83%) contained HHV-6 DNA. HHV-6B was the only variant detected in the saliva of all the positive cases. Conclusions: The detection of HHV-6 DNA in saliva by real-time PCR assay provides a sensitive and specific quantitation of HHV-6. Our pilot study suggests the wide prevalence of HHV-6 in saliva from healthy adults.