Prevalence of HIV-1 infection in a rural medical clinic in Haiti.

To estimate the prevalence of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) among the patients attending the out-patient Medicine Clinic of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, the serum samples of 535 consecutive patients were examined for HIV-1 antibodies by enzyme immunoassay. One hundred and twelve sera (20.9%) tested positive (19.3% of the in-district patients and 27.6% of the out-district patients). We concluded that HIV-1 infection has already spread to rural areas in Haiti and that we should prepare ourselves for the impact that the increasing number of infected patients will have.