title: [Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of 59 persons suspecting of being infected by the HIV virus despite having repeated negative laboratory findings].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical manifestations of 59 persons recruited via an internet chat group who complained of AIDS-like symptoms, so as to formulate effective intervention strategies and measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case was defined as onset of any three of the following self-reported AIDS-like symptoms in a member of relevant "internet chat groups": persistent low grade fever, rash, swollen lymph node, fatigue, diarrhea, weight loss and low CD4(+)T count. We administered an internet-based questionnaire, and invited 59 of the 88 case-persons for voluntary physical examination and laboratory testing.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 59 case-persons came from 22 provinces; 54 (91.5%) were men; the median age was 34 (range: 22-53) years; 84.7% of them had high-risk sexual behaviors before the onset of self-reported symptoms. The median time interval from exposure to onset was 15 d (range: 1-365 d). Blood specimens for all the 59 case-persons were tested negative for HIV and syphilis antibodies. There was also no evidence of Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus infection. One case-person was tested positive for hepatitis C virus antibody. The average CD4(+)T lymphocyte count was 707/µl. Of the 59 case-persons, 57 (96.6%) sought medical care from multiple providers; 40 were diagnosed to have no physical disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  None of the 59 case-persons had any evidence of infection with HIV or any other infectious agents that could explain their self-reported symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Field Epidemiology Training Program, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Ying-xin
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Xing-wang
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhi-qing
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guo-qing
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Jian-qiang
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult