HIV Antibody in Lebanese Arabs

Excerpt

To the editor: The prevalence of antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been determined in various non-high-risk groups in different parts of the world. Results ranged from 0% in South Africa and Venezuela to 0.17%, 0.15%, and 1.03% in blood donors in the United States, military recruits, and German blood donors, respectively (1-3). In other parts of the world the prevalence was higher—12.4% to 15.5% in Zairian controls and Rwandese blood donors, and up to 44% in Zambian females (4, 5). Similar data are not available yet for Arabs living in the Middle East. We therefore conducted a