Anti HIV-2 serological screening in Portuguese populations native from or having had close contact with Africa

AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 1987;3(4):341-2. doi: 10.1089/aid.1987.3.341.

Abstract

PIP: To gather epidemiologic information on the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-2 in Portugal, sera were collected in 1985 from 156 healthy adults currently living in Portugal but natives of Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde Islands, Saint Tome/Prince, Angola, and Mozambique and from 321 native Portuguese men and women who had close contact with local African populations. As a control, sera were collected from 102 health Portuguese with no previous contact with Africa or African natives. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) developed by Diagnostic Pasteur was used to screen for antibodies to HIV. No positive reactions were recorded in the control population. In contracts, 9 (6%) of the African natives and 7 (2%) of the contacts of Africans were HIV-positive, 6 of the positive sera were from women and 10 were from men. Significantly, 1 of the HIV-2-positive serum samples was from a native of Mozambique and 3 were from natives of Angola. This suggests that HIV-2 infection may have spread to other former Portuguese colonies, and foreign army soldiers who were at 1 time residents of Mozambique or Angola should be considered a risk group capable of spreading HIV-2 infection to other countries.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Africa
  • Antibodies, Viral / analysis*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • HIV / immunology
  • HIV Antibodies
  • HIV Seropositivity*
  • Humans
  • Portugal

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • HIV Antibodies