[HIV-2 in The Netherlands].
By comparing data from the HIV confirmation laboratories it could be established that in the period prior to February 1991 a HIV-2 infection was demonstrated in at least 18 persons in the Netherlands. Consequently, use of combined HIV-1/2 tests is urgently recommended for screening in diagnostic and blood bank laboratories in the Netherlands. A suspicion of presence of HIV-2 antibodies may arise in the interpretation of a combined HIV-1/2-ELISA, a specific HIV-1-ELISA and the pattern of HIV-1 western immunoblot. Confirmation of the presence of HIV-2 antibodies should be obtained by means of western blots of viral lysates of both HIV-1 and HIV-2 and peptide tests from the transmembranous region. Most persons with a HIV-2 infection originated from Africa south of the Sahara or the Cape Verdean Islands or had had a sexual relationship with a person from these areas. The vast majority was heterosexual and 13 of the 18 infected persons were women. This differs greatly from the epidemiological pattern of HIV-1 infections in the Netherlands. The possibility of further spread of HIV-2 in the Netherlands via heterosexual contacts should be seriously taken into account.
Rijksinstituut Voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne, Laboratorium voor Virologie, Bilthoven.
G J
GJ
van Doornum
R
R
van den Akker
J
J
Buitenwerf
A C
AC
Kroes
R A
RA
Coutinho
P N
PN
Lelie
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015488:HIV Antigens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
D015480:Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; D015488:HIV Antigens
HIV-2 in Nederland.