Fulvio M, Rebulla P, Reed D, Varnier OE, Biadati C, Calcagno L, Melotti S, Sirchia G; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1991 Jun 16-21; 7: 386 (abstract no. M.C.3354).
Centro Trafusionale e di Immunologia dei Trapianti, Ospedale Maggiore, Milano, Italy
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of anti-HIV1/2 and anti-HTLVI/II antibodies (abs) in a group of Italian transfusion-dependent homozygous beta-thalassemic patients (pts). METHODS: In June 1989 the 69 Italian centers participating in COOLEYCARE, an international program of quality assurance in thalassemia, were invited to contribute information and serum samples from their pts to the reference center in Milano. In Jun-Sep 1989 64 centers with 3070 pts (median age 10yrs, range less than 1-40) sent information on their confirmed anti-HIV1 positive pts; from Dec 1989 to Sep 1990, 37 of the 64 centers contributed also serum samples from 1258 pts. Sera were screened in Milano by Rapid'Elavia Mixt (Diagnostics Pasteur) and Serodia HTLVI (Fujirebio). Positive results were confirmed by HIV and HTLV Western Blot version 2.2 (Diagnostic Biotechnology) and by Inno-Lia (Innogenetics). RESULTS: Of the 3070 pts, 81 (2.6%) were reported as anti-HIV1 positive. Infection through blood transfusion after implementation of anti-HIV1 screening in blood donors (1985) was reported in 4 pts. The evaluation of the 1258 sera showed that: a) anti-HIV1 abs were found and confirmed (WHO criteria, 1990) in 42 pts, 4 of whom showed also anti-HIV2 reactivity; b) 8 of the 42 pts had been reported as anti-HIV1 negative from 5 referring centers in 1989 and then, at a later inquiry in Jan 1991, confirmed negative; c) anti-HTLVI abs were found in 2 pts from Sicily and 1 from Apulia; anti-HTLVII abs in 1 pt from Sicily. CONCLUSIONS: Our data seem to exclude the presence of HTLV outside Sicily and Apulia. Discrepancies found in anti-HIV1 results between the reference and some referring centers, and occurrence of infections transmitted by blood transfusion after 1985 confirm the need for continuous support of the proficiency program in HIV testing currently managed by the Italian NIH, and for even more stringent criteria for blood donor selection.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- AIDS Vaccines
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Antibodies
- Blood Donors
- Blood Transfusion
- Blotting, Western
- Deltaretrovirus
- Deltaretrovirus Infections
- HIV Antibodies
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- HIV-1
- HIV-2
- HTLV-I Antibodies
- HTLV-I Infections
- Human T-lymphotropic virus 1
- Human T-lymphotropic virus 2
- Humans
- Prevalence
- Sicily
- Thalassemia
Other ID:
UI: 102183741
From Meeting Abstracts