Transient angiolymphoid hyperplasia and Kaposi's sarcoma after primary infection with human herpesvirus 8 in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection

The case of a 43-year-old HIV patient illustrates that human herpesvirus 8 can cause an acute illness that may resolve completely without causing Kaposi's sarcoma. This virus has consistently been isolated from Kaposi's sarcoma tumor samples in HIV patients. This patient became ill with fever, joint pain and enlarged lymph nodes. Within 8 weeks, the lymph nodes returned to normal and he had no more symptoms. Analysis of blood samples taken before and after the illness revealed that he had seroconverted to HHV-8 during that time and the virus was detected in lymph node biopsy samples.