title: Persistent diarrhea and fecal shedding of retroviral nucleic acids in children infected with human immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: Gastrointestinal dysfunction is a serious problem in many children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the etiology of which has not been clearly defined. Quantitative nucleic acid amplification was used to study the correlation between shedding of HIV nucleic acids and gastrointestinal symptoms in HIV-infected infants and children. Many with HIV infection and persistent diarrheal disease shed HIV nucleic acids in their feces, as did an HIV-infected patient without apparent diarrheal disease. HIV nucleic acids were not found in feces of non-HIV-infected individuals. Intestinal infection with HIV appears to be important in the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal dysfunction in infants and children with HIV infection. Furthermore, the fecal shedding of HIV may play a role in HIV transmission in environments prone to high levels of fecal-oral contamination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Yolken
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perman
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Viscidi
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000150:complications*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006678:HIV / Q000235:genetics*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015347:RNA Probes; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015347:RNA Probes; D012367:RNA, Viral