title: Lack of evidence for HIV-2 infection among at-risk individuals in Brazil.
abstract: Recent reports have indicated the possibility that HIV-2 has been introduced into groups at risk for AIDS in Brazil. We studied sera collected in 1987 and 1988 from 1,821 at-risk individuals from diverse regions in Brazil. Of the 1,821 sera, 367 (20%) were confirmed as being positive for HIV-1 antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence (IF), and Western blot. An additional 33 (2%) sera displayed some reactivity to HIV-2-infected cells by IF. All 33 sera were subsequently tested in HIV-1 and HIV-2 Western blots as well as an ELISA using HIV-1- or HIV-2-specific peptides. All sera were confirmed as positive for HIV-1 and negative for HIV-2 antibodies in both assays. We conclude that caution should be used in the interpretation of serologic cross-reactivity between HIV-1 and HIV-2 and that there is no evidence that HIV-2 has entered groups at risk for HIV infection in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Retrovirus Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Hendry
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Parks
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Quinnan
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Castro
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D015498:HIV-2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies