that represented less than 1% of the actual viral genome. These fragments were similar (but still distinct from) the known herpevirus sequences, indicating the presence of a new virus. Starting from these fragments, this research team was then able to sequence the entire genome of the virus less than two years later. The discovery of this herpesvirus sparked considerable controversy and scientific in-fighting until sufficient data had been collected to show that indeed KSHV was the causative agent of Kaposi's sarcoma. The virus is now known to be a widespread infection of people living in sub-Saharan Africa; intermediate levels of infection occur in Mediterranean populations (including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Greece) and low levels of infection occur in most Northern European and North American populations. Gay and bisexual men are more susceptible to infection (through still unknown routes of sexual transmission) whereas the virus is transmitted through non-sexual routes in developing countries. Virology KSHV is a herpesvirus, and is a large double-stranded DNA virus with a protein covering that packages its nucleic acids, called the capsid, which is then surrounded by an amorphous protein layer called the tegument, and finally enclosed in a lipid envelope derived in part from the cell membrane. KSHV has a genome which is approximately 165,000 nucleic acid bases in length. The viral genome consists of a ~145 kilobase-long unique region, encoding all of expressed viral genes, which is flanked by ~20-30 kilobases of terminal repeat sequences. Each terminal repeat unit is 801 bp in length, has 85% G+C content and is oriented in a repetitive head-to-tail fashion. KSHV is a rhadinovirus, a Herpes genus remarkable since it has stolen numerous genes from host cells including, in the case of KSHV, genes that encode for complement-binding protein, IL-6, BCL-2, cyclin-D, a G protein-coupled receptor, interferon regulatory factor and Flice inhibitory protein (FLIP), as well as DNA synthesis proteins including dihydrofolate reductase, thymidine kinase, thymidylate synthetase, DNA polymerase and many others. While no other human tumor virus possesses these same genes, other tumor viruses target the same cellular pathways illustrating that at a basic level, all tumor viruses appear to attack the same cellular control pathways, so-called tumor suppressor pathways. Crucial for the entry of KSHV into cells are the EPH receptor A2, Hrs, TSG101, and a few integrins (whose identity has yet to be confirmed). After infection, the virus enters into lymphocytes via macropinosomes. Once