Prevalence of HIV-2 infection in a family planning clinic in Lisbon.
A significant proportion (10%) of notified AIDS cases in Portugal are due to HIV-2 infection as a result of the close connections of Portugal with Western African Countries (ex-Portuguese colonies) where there is a high HIV-2 seroprevalence. We conducted a seroepidemiological study of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection in 1400 women attending family planning and antenatal clinics in a health centre in Lisbon with the objective of analysing whether there was evidence of HIV-2 spread in this population. The seroprevalence for HIV, as determined by ELISA and confirmed by Western Blot, was 0.42% (6 cases) and 50% of these were of HIV-2 infection. Analysis of the epidemiological inquiries reveals that out of the 6 seropositive cases, only one was a drug addict (HIV-1) and another a western African black woman (HIV-2). The other 4 cases (2 HIV-2 and 2 HIV-1) were white Portuguese women with no history of travelling to Africa or previous blood transfusions, and the only risk factor was a history of multiple sexual partners (in 3 out of 4).
Victorino
R M
RM
Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, Portugal.
Guerreiro
D
D
Lourenço
M H
MH
Ferreira
S
S
Teles
L C
LC
D000328:Adult; D003151:Community Health Centers; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1; D015498:HIV-2; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires