[Bone sterilization by radiation and the HIV virus].

An experimental study was performed to investigate the efficacy of irradiating HIV-contaminated allografts. Irradiation was achieved using an accelerator delivering 6.3 MeV electrons, and the viral strain was HIV-1/LAV-1. At an activity equivalent to 600.000 counts of reverse transcriptase activity per minute and per millilitre, irradiation permitted total inactivation of HIV. In the light of present data concerning plasma viremia in HIV-infected patients, this experiment suggested that irradiation minimizes as far as possible the risk of transmitting HIV infection through bone transplantation from a seronegative, contaminant donor. However, in view of the relative imprecision of viral sensitivity curves, irradiation does not authorize bone transplantation from a seropositive patient, even though the bone has been irradiated.