Human Herpesvirus 6 Infection and Diagnostics

Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) causes primary infection in early childhood and establishes lifelong latency in its host. Reactivation of HHV-6, especially in immunosuppressed patients, has been associated with a variety of clinical complications. Diagnosis of acute HHV-6 infection has been a major challenge due to high prevalence of the virus and the difficulty in distinguishing latent infections from acute. Chromosomal integration of HHV-6 also occurs further complicating the management and diagnostics of HHV-6 disease. PCR-based methods have become the mainstay of HHV-6 diagnostics, however, interpretation of results in the context of clinical disease is of utmost importance.