AIDS in Israel, 1987

Between mid-1982 and 1 January 1988, 35 cases of AIDS among permanent residents of Israel were reported to the Israel Ministry of Health. In contrast to the experience in the United States and Europe, the semiannual incidence rates of AIDS are low and have increased slowly over the past 6 years (0.6 to 1.1 cases/million). Risk factors for AIDS were identified in 34 patients: homosexuality in 18, hemophilia in 14 and blood transfusions in 2. Seventeen of the 18 homosexuals were most likely infected abroad, and all hemophilia patients had received imported commercial clotting factors. The two patients associated with blood transfusion received blood donated in Israel. The spectrum of clinical presentations and opportunistic pathogens is similar to that reported in the Western world, except for one case of disseminated Mycobacterium simiae infection. Sexual relations abroad of local homosexuals and receipt of imported clotting factors by Israeli hemophiliacs are currently the most important risk factors for AIDS in Israel. However, the prevalence of HIV infection among Israeli homosexuals is still low and is probably indicative of the more conservative life-style, the later introduction of the virus, and the earlier application of safe sex, in comparison with other Western countries. Furthermore, since spread of the virus seems to be increasing among Israeli i.v. drug abusers, attention should be focused on this group as well, so as to prevent a major outbreak of AIDS in Israel.