OBJECTIVES: Several studies indicate a high level of HIV and HTLV I double-infections in some well identified at-risk groups, including drug addicts (USA, Great Britain), and bisexual men (Trinidad) or heterosexual subjects with AIDS in Africa. In an attempt to confirm these observations we looked at HTLV prevalence in HIV positive and HIV negative subjects, representative of the different ethnic groups of the Central African Republic. METHODS: One hundred and seventeen asymptomatic HIV positive male subjects, aged 20 to 50, and 117 healthy HIV negative male subjects, age-matched with the first group, were tested for HTLV antibodies. A positive reaction to HTLV was defined by the presence of antibodies against at least one product of both GAG and ENV genes. In addition, 56 patients with clinical signs of AIDS were also tested for HTLV antibodies. RESULTS: Two subjects in the healthy HIV positive group, and 2 subjects in the HIV negative group, had antibodies against HTLV, i.e. an equal prevalence of 1.7%. Two of the 56 subjects with AIDS (3.6%) were also infected by HTLV. CONCLUSION: In our group of Central African people, HTLV sero-prevalences between HIV seronegative and HIV seropositive subjects, and between HIV seronegative and AIDS subjects, fail to show any statistical difference. The significant level of double-infection cases found elsewhere may be due to an unknown factor, not encountered in the population we have studied.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/IMMUNOLOGY Adult Central African Republic/EPIDEMIOLOGY Female Human HIV Infections/EPIDEMIOLOGY HIV Seropositivity/*IMMUNOLOGY HTLV-BLV Antibodies/*ISOLATION & PURIF HTLV-BLV Infections/EPIDEMIOLOGY Male Middle Age ABSTRACT

www.aegis.org