To assess the presence of HHV-6-Specific DNA in human salivary glands, eighteen specimens of salivary gland tissue were investigated using the polymerase chain reaction. Eight of nine parotid glands, five of seven submandibular glands and one of two sublingual glands were found to have amplification of the HHV-6-specific sequence. The findings suggest that salivary gland tissue is one of the potential sites for HHV-6 persistence following primary infection and that saliva is a vehicle for transmission of the virus.