title: Silent infections with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 are highly unlikely in multitransfused seronegative hemophiliacs.
abstract: We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the frequency of silent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections in seronegative high-risk individuals with hemophilia who had been exposed to contaminated blood products more than 3 years previously. In a cross-sectional study of a cohort of 57 prospectively followed seronegative hemophiliacs who received multiple transfusions before 1986, HIV-1 proviral DNA was found transiently in only one patient. These data suggest that the rate of HIV infection among high-risk antibody negative individuals with hemophilia is very low to absent, in the range of 0% to 2%. These findings should provide considerable reassurance to seronegative persons with hemophilia and their sexual partners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cory
authors.forename: I K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Hewlett
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Eyster
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000150:complications*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009894:Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral