Prevalence of HIV1 in leprosy patients in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Andrade, V.L.; Moreira Alves, T.; Regazzi Avelleira, J.C.; Bayona, M.
Acta Leprologica 10(3): 159-163
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-5938 PMID: 9259886 Document Number: 270831
A cross-sectional study conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1990-92 failed to document any association between HIV-1 infection and leprosy. Tested for antibodies to HIV were 1016 leprosy patients and 78,482 volunteer blood donors. The HIV prevalence was 2.9/1000 (3 cases) among leprosy patients and 3.8/1000 (282 cases) among blood donors (odds ratio, 0.79)--a nonsignificant difference. When standardized for age, these rates were 2.8/1000 and 2.9/1000, respectively. Since all 3 HIV cases in the leprosy group were men, the analysis was repeated to exclude females. Although male leprosy patients were 28% more likely to be HIV-infected than male blood donors (odds ratio, 0.79), the difference was, again, not significant. A similar lack of association has been reported in studies from other areas where both HIV and leprosy are prevalent. However, a large-scale nested case-control study in a cohort at high risk of HIV is necessary to more definitively reject this association.