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	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

We appreciate the reply by Lebbé and Agbalika¹ to our remarks on the role of human herpesvirus 8 in Kaposi sarcoma.² However, they raise a point that might lead the lay reader to confound 2 main issues in virology, namely, latency and replication.

The article in discussion by Lebbé et al³ on Kaposi sarcoma and human herpesvirus 8 maintains that the prevalence of patients with infected cells parallels the severity of the disease. They reached this conclusion by comparing the percentage of patients with infected mononucleates in stages I to II Kaposi sarcoma (27.8%) with the percentage in stages III to IV Kaposi sarcoma (70%). We objected that there is no evidence in the literature of a correspondence between the existence of latently infected cells and the severity of the disease or the involvement of other tissues. Our opinion, which, incidentally, is shared by Carrigan,⁴ may have been poorly expressed . . . [Full Text of this Article]