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Review
. 2014 May;159(5):863-70.
doi: 10.1007/s00705-013-1902-5. Epub 2013 Nov 6.

Classification of HHV-6A and HHV-6B as distinct viruses

Dharam Ablashi  1 , Henri Agut, Roberto Alvarez-Lafuente, Duncan A Clark, Stephen Dewhurst, Dario DiLuca, Louis Flamand, Niza Frenkel, Robert Gallo, Ursula A Gompels, Per Höllsberg, Steven Jacobson, Mario Luppi, Paolo Lusso, Mauro Malnati, Peter Medveczky, Yasuko Mori, Philip E Pellett, Joshua C Pritchett, Koichi Yamanishi, Tetsushi Yoshikawa
Affiliations
Review

Classification of HHV-6A and HHV-6B as distinct viruses

Dharam Ablashi et al. Arch Virol. 2014 May.

Abstract

Shortly after the discovery of human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), two distinct variants, HHV-6A and HHV-6B, were identified. In 2012, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) classified HHV-6A and HHV-6B as separate viruses. This review outlines several of the documented epidemiological, biological, and immunological distinctions between HHV-6A and HHV-6B, which support the ICTV classification. The utilization of virus-specific clinical and laboratory assays for distinguishing HHV-6A and HHV-6B is now required for further classification. For clarity in biological and clinical distinctions between HHV-6A and HHV-6B, scientists and physicians are herein urged, where possible, to differentiate carefully between HHV-6A and HHV-6B in all future publications.

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