title: Prevalence of antibodies to lymphadenopathy-associated retrovirus in African patients with AIDS.
abstract: The presence of antibodies to lymphadenopathy-associated retrovirus (LAV) was determined by a radioimmunoprecipitation assay and by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent solid assay of sera from Zairian patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1983. Thirty-five of 37 patients (94 percent) and 32 of 36 patients (88 percent), respectively, were seropositive by the two tests. In a control group of 26 patients, six (23 percent) showed positive results in these tests. Of these six control patients, five had clinically demonstrable infectious diseases and a low ratio of T4 to T8 lymphocytes. In addition, sera collected from a control group of Zairian mothers in 1980 were positive for LAV in 5 of 100 cases. Other serologic data suggest that LAV was present as early as 1977 in Zaire.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000276:immunology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000166:cytology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral