Three cases of HIV-1 seroreversion

Three patients were enrolled, two as hemophiliacs, and one with acute EBV infection. Serial serum samples of each patient were tested with at least 3 different HIV antibody EIA tests, an immunofluo-rescent test and two western blots (WB). In the third case, PCR and reverse transcriptase enzyme activity measurement were also done. One of the regularly checked serum samples of hemophiliac patients was reactive with different HIV screening and confirmatory assays. Their next blood samples, two weeks and one month later, respectively, were negative with the same tests. In Case 3. two and a half years after the first examination, the EIA tests results changed to negative, but the WB was still indeterminate. In the case of the two hemophiliac patients, the patients may have been exposed to HIV containing blood products (before 1985), but were not infected. Regular treatment with factor VIII concentrate, in which HIV antigens may be present, can boost the immune response and results in transient seropositivity. In the case of the EBV infected patient, the transient HIV seropositivity may be the consequence of EBV induced proliferation of anti-HIV-antibody producing B cell clones. During our ten year HIV confirmatory practice we tested more than 40000 samples, from which transient seropositivity were observed only in the three cases summarized in this paper.