Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the prevalence, quantity, risk, and correlations of salivary VZV and HSV-2 from 59 HIV-seropositive individuals and 53 healthy control subjects in a case-control cross-sectional study. Seventy-eight percent of the HIV-seropositive patients (46 out of 59) were taking HAART.
VZV DNA was detected in the saliva of 5.1 % (3 out of 59) of the HIV-positive group and in only 1 healthy control 1.9 % (1 out of 53; P = .62). The amount of VZV DNA in the expressors was low, generally <1,100 copies/mL, with no observed difference between the HIV-positive group and the control subjects (P = 1.0). HSV-2 DNA was not detected in either group. In the HIV-infected group, VZV shedding occurred in those on HAART, but was not associated with oral lesions, specific CD4+ or CD8+ T-cell levels, or demographic factors.
Varicella zoster virus was detected at low prevalence in the saliva of HIV-infected persons, whereas HSV-2 was not detected in the saliva of this cohort. HAART does not appear to diminish the risk for asymptomatic VZV shedding.