Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibodies in patients with haemophilia and other inheritable blood clotting disorders in south west Poland (Lower Silesia region).

In order to determine the frequency of HIV antibodies among patients with haemophilia and other inheritable blood clotting disorder in the Lower Silesia region of South-West Poland, we examined a representative fraction comprising 106 patients from a cohort of 302 blood clotting disorder patients. The methods used for detecting HIV antibodies were an ELISA, the immunoblotting test ("Western blot") and an indirect immunofluorescence test. 8 patients were reactive in the ELISA, but only 2 (1.9%) patients were truly seropositive by the confirmation tests. Both patients have received imported commercial factor VIII preparation. Totally 17 patients have been treated with imported factor VIII, thus 12% (95% confidence limits: 1.5-36.5%) of these were seropositive. This figure, which is lower than figures obtained from the USA and Western Europe, is probably due to far less intensive treatment of the patients. None (95% confidence limits: 0-4.1%) of the patients solely treated with blood transfusion and locally produced preparation was HIV antibody positive. These results indicate a low prevalence of HIV infection in this region of Poland but are, on the other hand, a strong argument for an introduction of HIV antibody screening of blood donors to maintain these favourable condition.