Abstract
BACKGROUND: Kaposi's sarcoma associated-herpesvirus causes all forms of Kaposi's sarcoma, and six major subtypes have been described based on the amino acid sequences of the open reading frame K1. MAIN OBSERVATION: A 71-year-old man from China, HIV negative, presented with nodules on the dorsal aspect of his toes. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma and virology studies of his blood and saliva confirmed the presence of Kaposi's sarcoma associated-herpesvirus infection. Viral genotyping was consistent with subtype C3. Intervention has been deferred as our patient has remained clinically asymptomatic and without evident growth of his lesions over a 2-year follow up. CONCLUSIONS: We herein report the first known case of Kaposi's sarcoma restricted to the toes caused by the viral subtype C3 in an HIV-negative patient from Harbin, China.