HIV-2 infections in a rural Senegalese community

✍ Scribed by Bernard Le Guenno; Gilles Pison; Catherine Enel; Emmanuel Lagarde; Cheikh Seck

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 399 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/jmv.1890380114

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In a community study in rural Senegal, 22 human immunodeficiency virus type‐2 (HIV‐2) seropositive cases and 64 matched controls were examined clinically and evaluated immunologically. The presence of clinical signs was highly correlated with HIV‐2 seropositivity: 9 anti‐HIV‐2 positive patients and 5 controls presented with clinical signs (odd ratio [OR] = 8.2, confidence limits [CL] 2‐35). The main symptom associated with HIV‐2 seropositivity was a chronic cough (OR = 18.5, CL 1.8‐899). The presence of diarrhoea was not significant (OR = 3.1, CL 0.3‐3.5). The total number of CD8 cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, β2 microglobulin, and IgG level discriminated between seropositive and seronegative individuals (P < 0.05). When the anti‐HIV‐2 positives were grouped as 13 healthy and 9 sick people, red blood cells, lymphocytes, T lymphocytes, CD4 cells, and β2 microglobulin differed significantly. Clinical symptoms were associated with immunodepression: 5 of 14 sick people had less than 500 CD4/μl vs. 1 of 72 healthy persons. This study at the community level emphasizes the clinical and immunological impact of HIV‐2 infection. Even if it presents with a longer incubation period than HIV‐1, this virus is a major threat to public health. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.