The present invention relates to (poly)peptides, which are recognized by anti-HHV8 antibodies of HHV-8 infected patients, whereby these (poly)peptides are not naturally occurring HHV-8 proteins. The present invention further relates to polymers, comprising at least two identical or different peptides according to the invention as well as conjugates, comprising said peptides and/or polymers thereof. Furthermore, this invention provides mixtures, comprising said peptides and/or polymers thereof, which are used to detect anti-HHV-8 antibodies with high sensitivity and specificity. In addition, the present invention relates to a diagnostic kit, comprising said peptides, polymers and/or mixtures thereof, which can be used for the detection of anti-HHV-8 antibodies and for the diagnosis of an HHV-8 infection, respectively.
