Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Note
Awareness of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Among Men Who Have Sex With Men
Phillips, Abigail M. MD; Jones, Alison Graves MPH; Osmond, Dennis H. PhD; Pollack, Lance M. PhD; Catania, Joseph A. PhD; Martin, Jeffrey N. MD, MPH
From the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, CA
Supported by the National Institutes of Health (U01 CA078124 and R01 CA119903) and the California Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS (Cooperative agreement 01-16085).
The authors have no conflict of interests.
Correspondence: Jeffrey N. Martin, MD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, 185 Berry Street, Suite 5700, San Francisco, CA 94107. E-mail: [email protected].
Joseph A. Catania is currently at Oregon State University.
Received for publication March 30, 2008, and accepted June 4, 2008.
Abstract
Background:
Despite burgeoning scientific knowledge about Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), the etiologic agent of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), little is known about awareness of this virus in the general community. This is particularly the case for men who have sex with men (MSM), the group at greatest risk for infection.
Methods:
The California Health Interview Survey was a random digit- dial survey of over 50,000 households. Men aged 18 to 64 years who self-identified as gay or bisexual were subsequently recontacted for a follow-up study of HIV-related knowledge and behavior in which they were asked if they had heard of KS and to describe the cause of KS.
Results:
Of 398 MSM interviewed, 73.0% (95% CI 65.0–79.7) had heard of KS. However, only 6.4% (95% CI 4.4–9.2) of participants correctly identified that KS is caused by KSHV or a virus other than HIV. Postgraduate education, urban residence, and concurrent HIV infection were all independently associated with greater awareness of the viral origin of KS.
Conclusion:
Awareness of KSHV is very low, overall, among MSM and only somewhat higher, but still unacceptably low, among HIV-infected MSM. Significant efforts are needed to increase awareness of KSHV as a sexually transmitted infection in this population.