The Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in the Wife of a Hemophiliac

Abstract

A 71-year-old previously healthy woman developed unexplained thrush, onychomycosis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and a T-cell defect consistent with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Her only apparent risk factor was infrequent, monogamous sexual contact with her husband, a 74-year-old hemophiliac who had received factor VIII concentrate and subsequently died due to P. carinii pneumonia. She first developed probable signs of the syndrome (recurrent thrush and onychomycosis) 1 year before her husband became ill. These findings suggest that the syndrome can be transmitted heterosexually by an asymptomatic person, and that the female sexual partners of hemophiliacs treated with factor VIII concentrate may be at risk of acquiring the syndrome; frequent sexual contact or several sexual partners are not necessary for transmission to occur; and the syndrome can occur in elderly people if exposed to risk factors. This case further supports the theory that the syndrome in hemophiliacs is due to an infectious agent that can be transmitted heterosexually as well as parenterally.