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Antibody to Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type III in Wives of Hemophiliacs
Evidence for Heterosexual Transmission
- JOAN K. KREISS, M.D., M.P.H.;
- LYNN W. KITCHEN, M.D.;
- HARRY E. PRINCE, Ph.D.;
- CAROL K. KASPER, M.D.; and
- MAX ESSEX, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Abstract
To evaluate the risk of heterosexual transmission of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, lymphadenopathy, and infection with human T-lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III), we studied 42 hemophiliacs and their wives. By early 1984, 9 of the hemophiliacs had asymptomatic lymphadenopathy and 1 had the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Twenty-one hemophiliacs, including all 10 with clinically overt disease, had antibody to HTLV-III. None of the 42 wives had lymphadenopathy or the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome but 2 had HTLV-III antibody. One of these women had evidence of immunologic dysfunction with a markedly reduced T-helper/suppressor cell ratio. The husbands of these 2 women both had HTLV-III antibody, but neither had overt acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related disease. Thus, as of early 1984, the prevalence of HTLV-III antibody in wives of hemophiliacs seropositive for HTLV-III was 9.5% (2 of 21). We conclude that transmission of HTLV-III occurs between hemophiliacs and their heterosexual partners.
Article and Author Information
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▸From the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital; the Cellular Immunology Laboratory, American Red Cross Blood Services; the Hemophilia Center, Orthopaedic Hospital; and the Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, and the Department of Cancer Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
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Grant support: in part by the Veterans Administration; the American Red Cross Blood Services; National Research Service Award ST 32CA9382; and grants CA 37466 and CA 18216 from the National Institutes of Health.
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▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Joan Kreiss, M.D., M.P.H.; ZA-92, Harborview Medical Center, 325 Ninth Avenue; Seattle, WA 98104.
- © 1985 American College of Physicians
