[An intrahospital outbreak of HIV infection in Elista]

For the first time a nosocomial focus of HIV infection was established. Out of 83,000 inhabitants of the Kalmyck ASSR who underwent planned examination in the course of epidemiological investigation, 65 cases of HIV infection were detected and all of them were traced to the focus of hospital infection (56 children and 9 adults: 1 man and 8 women; of these, 7 women contacted the infection from their infected children in the process of breast feeding). The children were infected during their stay in two hospitals of Elista where they received multiple intravenous and intramuscular injections. The infection spread from the infant department of the regional pediatric hospital to 4 more departments and to the infectious diseases hospital. Transmission of this infection was maintained for several months by the use of nonsterile syringes in parenteral manipulations.