Antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in medico-legal autopsy material
Geertinger, P.; Kringsholm, B.; Lindhardt, B.O.; Sørensen, H.; Theilade, P.; Wantzin, P.
Ugeskrift for Laeger 150(15): 910-912
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0041-5782 PMID: 3363732 Document Number: 315191
During a period of three months about the turn of the year 1985/1986, routine analysis for antibodies to human immune defect virus (HIV) was performed on 268 persons who were brought in dead to the University Insitute of Forensic Medicine of Copenhagen [Denmark]. At an initial investigation employing ELISA, 18 samples were found to be reactive. Of these, only one sample, which originated from a female drug-addict with known HIV infection, could be confirmed employing an immune blotting test and immune fluorescence test. It thus appears possible to examine blood from corpses for HIV antibodies. The frequency of HIV infection among the drug-addicts in the material was 5% which is an agreement with the assumption that HIV was introduced late among Danish drug-addicts. A high frequency of homosexual and bisexual men were found among the false positive results which constituted 6.3% of the total examined and, therefore, the possibility of false negative results cannot be excluded. The frequency of false positive reactions did not exceed what might be anticipated in a material of such a heterogenous composition as this.