[Evidence of infection by HIV-2 in Madrid (1991)]

The presence of antibodies against HIV-2 was analyzed in serum samples from high-risk individuals for retrovirus infection, who were seropositives for HIV-1. Out of a total of 842 samples, 344 presented positive absorbency and 16, threshold ranges, in an enzymatic immunoassay (EIA) designed to detect simultaneously antibodies against HIV-1 and HIV-2. The Western Blot (WB) analysis confirmed the presence of antibodies against HIV-1 in 324 samples with positive or threshold EIA, while it was indetermined in 15 samples. WB was negative in 11 samples. In the 15 samples with indetermined WB and in the 16 samples with threshold EIA, the presence of antibodies against HIV-2 was investigated with an specific WB and a test designed with synthetic peptides (Pepti-lav). Three samples met the isolated seropositivity criteria for HIV-2. Those samples were from 3 african immigrants living in Madrid, which, until now, were asymptomatic, although one of them presented biological signs of immunodeficiency. None of them referred high-risk infectious practices, such a homosexuality or drug-addiction, although all of them referred heterosexual contacts in their native countries. Samples from native subjects meeting serum positivity criteria for HIV-2 were not identified.