Association of human herpesvirus 6 subtypes with symptomatic apical periodontitis

Objective: The occurrence of human herpesvirus (HHV) 6 subtypes A and B in apical periodontitis was determined. The relationship of HHV-6 subtypes to other disease associated herpesviruses, i.e., Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human cytomegalovirus, was also investigated. Study design: Forty apical periodontitis samples (17 symptomatic and 23 asymptomatic) and 40 healthy pulp control samples were collected. Nested polymerase chain reaction was used to detect HHV-6 DNA. Results: HHV-6 DNA was observed in significantly higher frequencies in apical periodontitis samples than in control samples (20% vs. 2.5%; P =.03). Further classification of apical lesions revealed that subtype B of HHV-6 was significantly associated with large-sized and symptomatic lesions (P <.01). Thirty-one apical lesions (77%) harbored <1 of the tested herpesviruses: EBV was the most frequent herpesvirus (72.5%) in apical periodontitis, followed by HHV-6 (20%). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that EBV and HHV-6B infections can be associated with symptomatic apical periodontitis.