Ferro A, Gomez P, Andrian C, Perra A, Frongia O, Sechi M A, Sabbatani S, Lillo F, Varnier O E
Blood Bank, Hospital Nacional Simao Mendes, Bissau, Republica da Guiné.
New Microbiol. 1994 Jan;17(1):61-4.
Since there have been a few reports of pediatric HIV-2 infection. We therefore investigated the perinatal transmission of HIV-2 in 147 malnourished and 164 well-nourished children attending a health center in the northern part of Guinea Bissau. Specific HIV-2 antibodies were detected in 17 mothers and in 2 malnourished children, one of them with pediatric AIDS. This study demonstrates that mother to child transmission of HIV-2 infection occurs in Guinea Bissau and suggests that there is an increased likelihood of detecting HIV-2 infection in malnourished children. The high seroprevalence of HIV-2 in a rural population without known risk factors may represent a hidden threat to mother/child health.
