To determine the prevalence of HIV-2 infection in southern India, we tested two sets of sera, selected from among the samples which had been collected between January 1988 and October 1990 from high risk subjects and tested for HIV-1 antibody. They were screened for HIV-2 antibody by ELISA and repeatedly reactive sera confirmed by HIV-2 Western blot and line immunoassay. In the first set of 604 sera, only one (0.16%) was positive for HIV-2. In the second set of 24 sera, selected on the basis of having indeterminate HIV-1 Western blot profiles, again one (4%) was positive for HIV-2. The two HIV-2 infected subjects were residents of Madras or Visakhapatnam. Residents of Vellore region constituted 88 and 75 per cent of the two sets of subjects; none was positive for HIV-2. Our results show the prevalence of HIV-2 in the port-cities of southern India. Since it will spread to other regions continuous monitoring for this infection is essential in order to determine when to establish HIV-2 screening in addition to the existing HIV-1 screening of donor blood for transfusion.
PIP: While HIV-1 is the principal etiologic agent of AIDS throughout the world, the genetically distinct HIV-2 has been recently credited with causing AIDS especially in the countries of West Africa. HIV-2 infection was first reported in India in the city of Bombay in 1991. This paper reports findings from an HIV-2 seroprevalence study of blood sera in southern India. Sera sampled were selected from among those collected from January 1988 to October 1990 from high-risk subjects and tested for antibody to HIV-1. Sera were screened for HIV-2 with ELISA and repeatedly reactive sera were confirmed with Western blot for HIV-2 and line immunoassay. 1 serum (0.16%) of the 604 sera initially tested was positive for HIV-2. Another serum was found positive in the 2nd set of 24 sera (4%). The 2 infected subjects were residents of Madras or Visakhapatnam. Although residents of the Vellore region respectively comprise 88% and 75% of the 2 sets of subjects, none was found to be positive for HIV-2. Since these findings confirm the existence of HIV-2 in India, the authors stress the need to monitor its spread in order to determine when blood from donors should start being screened for both HIV-1 and HIV-2.