AEGiS-AP: Rare strain of AIDS virus infects 4 in N.Y.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Rare strain of AIDS virus infects 4 in N.Y.

The Associated Press - Wednesday, July 28, 1989

NEW YORK - A strain of the AIDS virus that's widespread in west Africa but is rare in the United States has infected at least four people in New York City, authorities said.

The four confirmed and two unconfirmed but likely cases of HIV-2 infections represent the largest concentration of such infections in North America, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

They were discovered among hundreds of blood samples from people who sought to be tested for AIDS in New York City, officials said.

"The bad news is that, yes, HIV-2 infection is here," said city Health Commissioner Dr. Stephen C. Joseph. "The good news is it apparently has not gotten into the blood supply."

HIV-2 is not always detected by standard AIDS tests. The finding means uncertainty for people who already have passed such tests and also means blood banks will have a tougher time making sure a donation is AIDS-free.

But AIDS researchers say the number of HIV-2-infected people in the United States is probably small and mostly limited to immigrants from western Africa, the Times said.

Dr. James Curran, director of AIDS programs at the federal Centers for Disease Control, said that while HIV-2 cases are likely to become more common in this country, "It is not currently a great threat to the public."

Curran said that outside New York, there have been fewer than 10 reports of HIV-2 infections in the country.

The standard AIDS test is designed to detect antibodies generated by the HIV-1 virus. It is able to detect HIV-2 between 45 percent and 90 percent of the time, Curran said, citing figures presented at an international AIDS conference in Montreal.

Health officials say America's blood supply appears safe. If an AIDS test is inconclusive, blood banks discard the donation. And blood banks routinely ask donors who are in high AIDS-risk groups not to give blood, or to donate it for research rather than transfusion.

Health experts disagree on whether HIV-2 is as dangerous as HIV-1.

Some studies suggest that fewer HIV-2-infected people go on to develop full-blown AIDS. But researchers note that HIV-1 has had longer to spread and develop and that the development of symptoms may take more time in an HIV-2 infection.
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