theprevalenceofhumanherpesvirusesinthesalivaof.docVIP

The prevalence of Human herpes viruses in the saliva of Chronic Periodontitis patients compared to oral health providers and healthy controls Leon Bilder*, Rina Elimelech,* Moran Szwarcwort,? Zipi Kra-Oz,? Eli E. Machtei* * Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine, School of Graduate Dentistry, Rambam HCC and Faculty of Medicine, Technion (I.I.T.), Haifa, Israel ? Laboratory of clinical virology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel Corresponding author: Dr. Leon Bilder D.M.D, Ph.D. School of Graduate Dentistry, Rambam Health Care Campus, P.O.Box 9602, 31096, Haifa, Israel. Fax no.: 972-4-8543057 E-mail address: leon.bilder1@ Abstract Background: The predominant causative agents in periodontal disease are perio-pathogenic bacteria; however, viruses have also been implicated in the disease. Methods: Three groups were included in this study: chronic periodontitis patients (CP), periodontally healthy patients (NP) and oral health providers with a healthy periodontium (NPOHP). For each subject, 2 ml of un-stimulated whole saliva was collected and mixed with 1 ml lysis buffer. HHVs assay was performed using real time PCR. Results: 15% of the subjects in the CP group tested positive for CMV compared to none in both the NP and NPOHP (p=0.04). Recurrent herpes was more frequent in females (51.7%) compared to males (33.3%) which was statistically significant (p=0.038). Conclusions: The higher concentrations of CMV in the un-stimulated saliva of CP patients suggest that CMV may play a role in the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis. Key words: Periodontitis; medical personnel; saliva; viruses; CMV; HHV Introduction The major causative agents in periodontal disease are perio-pathogenic bacteria [1]. Yet, while these bacteria have been identified (to a greater or lesser extent), some other microorganisms, mainly viruses, have been implicated in the pathogenic flora of the periodontium[2,3]. In particular, Human