Human herpesvirus 6: diagnosis of active infection

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Am Clin Lab. 2000 Aug;19(7):12. Human herpesvirus 6: diagnosis of

active infection. Carrigan DR

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Wisconsin Viral Research Group, Ltd., 10437 Innovation Dr., Ste. 319,

Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. info@...

HHV-6 is an opportunistic viral pathogen that has been demonstrated as

the cause of often life-threatening illness in pediatric patients and

transplant recipients. A substantial body of scientific evidence links

HHV-6 to the etiology of such chronic diseases as multiple sclerosis.

For these reasons, it is important that patients in these groups be

screened for possible infection with HHV-6. Serological studies for IgG

and/or IgM can be misleading, as are PCR analyses, which cannot

distinguish between latent and actively replicating virus. Currently,

the only reliable method for diagnosing an active infection with HHV-6

is viral isolation.

PMID: 11317413