HHV-6B lung infection doubles the mortality rate of transplant patients with respiratory disease Investigators at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington in Seattle found that HHV-6B in lung fluid of bone marrow transplant recipients with pneumonia is associated with a 2-fold increased risk of death. Importantly, HHV-6B positive patients who were treated with an antiviral had a 60% lower risk of death.
HHV-6A (but not HHV-6B) linked to increased risk of multiple sclerosis Karolinska Institute researchers developed a novel serological assay to determine that individuals with antibodies to HHV-6A early proteins are more likely to develop MS. HHV-6A antibodies were the highest in the presence of elevated EBV antibodies, suggesting that the two viruses could jointly contribute to the development of MS.
New recommendations for HHV-6 encephalitis from Japan New guidelines from Japan recommend foscarnet as the first-line treatment for HHV-6 encephalitis, with ganciclovir as second choice. They also recommend a combination therapy in severe cases.
Fetal iciHHV-6 associated with a 3-fold increased risk of preeclampsia A large UK study utilizing RNA sequencing metagenomics of placental samples identified HHV-6 RNA in 6.1% of pre-eclampsia cases and 2.2% of healthy pregnancies. HHV-6 was the only virus found and it was iciHHV-6 in 70% of cases.
