Human immunodeficiency virus infection in cases presenting to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office

Serum samples were available from 492 of 1,058 cadavers seen at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office between August 4 and December 15, 1989. These sera were tested for the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot. The overall prevalence of HIV in the autopsy population was 2.24%. The following populations showed increased prevalence as compared to the total sampled population: blacks (3.60%, p less than 0.01), males (2.51%, n.s.), and homicide victims (3.74%, n.s.). Seroprevalence data from this study are compared with those from earlier studies of other related populations, with regard to overall prevalence and risk factor analysis.