Abstract

Objective: Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) infection—also known as Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)—is the causative agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma, especially in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) / acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. The prevalence of HHV-8/KSHV varies according to country and geographical region. However, despite the increasing amount of research on HHV-8/KSHV after identifying the virus, few studies have systematically collected data on the scientific production process. Therefore, this study aimed to make a bibliometric evaluation of the literature on HIV/AIDS-associated HHV-8/KSHV.  

Methods: Scientific publications produced in Turkey were analyzed using specific keywords of AIDS-related HHV-8/KSHV in the Scopus database between 2001 and 2020. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected data was reviewed using appropriate bibliometric indicators regarding the number of publications, publication language, most influential institutions, most cited publications, active authors, and active journals. In addition, the VOSviewer v.1.6.16 program (Leiden University’s Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden, Holland) was used to create a keyword network map and determine research interest areas and relationships.   

Results: There were 40 scientific publications produced in Turkey. The first publication of AIDS-related HHV-8/KSHV in Turkey was in 2001 (n=5, 5%). Most studies were conducted in 2013 and 2020 (n=5, 12.5%). The highest number of publications were in English (82.5%), and 7.5% were published in the Journal of Microbiology Bulletin. Generally, the publications were in article form (82.5%) and in the area of medical sciences (95%). Kaposi’s sarcoma was the most frequently used word in the map created with the network analysis of the keywords.