Implications of the revised surveillance definition: AIDS among New York City drug users.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has proposed revising the AIDS surveillance definition to include any HIV-seropositive person with a CD4 cell count of less than 200 cells per microliter. Based on a study of persons receiving treatment for HIV infection, this new definition would lead to an estimated 50% increase in the number of persons recognized as living with AIDS. Among 440 HIV-seropositive research subjects recruited from drug treatment programs and through street outreach in New York City, 59 met this definition, yet only 25% of those had been reported to the New York City AIDS registry. The new definition, if combined with HIV and T-cell testing at drug treatment and street outreach programs, could thus yield very large increases in the number of injecting drug users meeting the new surveillance definition of AIDS.
Beth Israel Medical Center, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc., New York City, NY 10013.
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D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States