title: Clinical features, immunological changes and mortality in a cohort of HIV-2-infected individuals in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.
abstract: Clinical symptoms and immunological changes associated with HIV-2 infection were studied in a cohort of police officers in Guinea-Bissau. HIV-related symptoms were classified according to the WHO clinical staging system. The inclusion period was from January 1990 to January 1997, and among 2637 subjects included (90.7%M, 9.3%F), the prevalence of HIV-1, HIV-2 and dual reactivity to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 was 0.9%, 9.7% and 0.5%, respectively. Weight loss > 10%, diarrhoea or fever > 1 month, generalized lymphadenopathy and generalized pruritic dermatitis were significantly associated with HIV-2 infection as well as suppression of CD4 cells as compared with HIV-negative controls. Females had significantly higher CD4 cell counts than males, both among HIV-negative and HIV-2-positive asymptomatic individuals. The mortality rates/100 person-years (p.y.) were 0.4 in HIV-negative and 2.6 in HIV-2-positive subjects, giving an age-adjusted mortality rate ratio of 6.6 (95% CI, 4.0-10.9; p < 0.001). The mortality rate among HIV-2-infected individuals varied considerably in different stages of the WHO clinical staging system; 1.7 and 8.0/100 p.y. in stage 1 and 3, respectively.
authors.affiliation: National Public Health Laboratory, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Norrgren
authors.forename: Z J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Da Silva
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Biague
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Biberfeld
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nauclér
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006169:Guinea-Bissau / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D015497:HIV-1; D015498:HIV-2; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016495:Police; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors