AIDS following mother-to-child transmission of HIV-2
Morgan, G.; Wilkins, H.A.; Pepin, J.; Jobe, O.; Brewster, D.; Whittle, H.
Aids 4(9): 879-882
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0269-9370 PMID: 1979226 DOI: 10.1097/00002030-199009000-00008Document Number: 372102
Eight cases of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-2 were documented by ELISA and Western blot in Gambia between January 1988-September 1989 from a hospital-based screening of 205 malnourished children, 864 subjects in a malaria study, 34 patients with probable immunodeficiency and 24 children of 17 HIV-2 seropositive mothers. AIDS was diagnosed by WHO clinical definition. Diagnosis of HIV-2 was made if sera were positive by ELISA and Western blot (LAV Blot2, Diagnostics Pasteur, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) and negative by Wellcozyme I competitive ELISA to HIV-a (Wellcome Diagnostics, Dartford, UK). The children ranged in age from 17 months-5 years, and in ponderal index from 50-90%. 6 had CD4 percentages or counts below the normal range. 7 of the 8 could only have been infected pre- or perinatally, while 1 had been transfused from her mother. The clinical features included 5 with diarrhea 1 month; 3 with Cryptosporidium, 3 with Candida, a pneumonia, an interstitial pneumonia by x-ray, a streptococcus abscess, a staphylococcus abscess, 1 infant with failure to thrive and 1 4-year old who was asymptomatic. This group of patients was more severely affected than a series reported from Guinea Bissau: their mothers also had advanced AIDS in comparison to asymptomatic mothers in the other series. While mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 occurs in approximately 33% of children of HIV-1 seropositive mothers, these data cannot estimate the actual rate of transmission of HIV-2.