No evidence of HIV-2 infection in subjects at risk for aids living in North-East Italy

Sera samples from 1134 individuals (824 HIV-1 seropositive and 310 HIV-1 seronegative), collected from January 1988 to April 1990, were tested for HIV-2 antibodies by whole virus assays and synthetic peptide-based assays to determine the prevalence of HIV-2 infection in populations at risk for AIDS in North-East Italy (Veneto Region). Partial reactivities on HIV-2 Western Blot were a common finding in HIV-1 seropositive samples. None of the sera fulfilled the criteria for HIV-2 seropositivity, since only low-level reactivity was observed with an HIV-2 competitive ELISA test, and no reactivity occurred with an HIV-2 specific peptide.Therefore, there is no evidence of HIV-2 infection in this geographical area, to date.Corresponding Author