Silent infections with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 are highly unlikely in multitransfused seronegative hemophiliacs.
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.
Gibbons
J
J
Department of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey.
Cory
J M
JM
Hewlett
I K
IK
Epstein
J S
JS
Eyster
M E
ME
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
D004279:DNA, Viral