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Immunodeficiency in Female Sexual Partners of Men with the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

List of authors.
  • Carol Harris, M.D.,
  • Catherine Butkus Small, M.D.,
  • Robert S. Klein, M.D.,
  • Gerald H. Friedland, M.D.,
  • Bernice Moll, Ph.D.,
  • Eugene E. Emeson, M.D.,
  • Ilya Spigland, M.D.,
  • and Neal H. Steigbigel, M.D.

Abstract

Because the current outbreak of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) among previously healthy adults may be caused by a transmissible biologic agent, and because it may be preceded by immunologic abnormalities with or without a prodromal illness, we studied seven female sexual partners of male patients with the syndrome. The male patients were all drug abusers. One of the seven women was found to have the full-blown syndrome, a second had an illness consistent with the prodrome of AIDS (generalized lymphadenopathy, lymphopenia, and a decreased ratio of helper to suppressor T cells), and four others had generalized lymphadenopathy or lymphopenia, with or without a decreased ratio of helper to suppressor T cells. Only one woman had no abnormalities. These findings suggest that AIDS may be transmitted between hetero-sexual men and women. (N Engl J Med 1983; 308:1181–4.)

Funding and Disclosures

Dr. Harris and Dr. Butkus Small are supported by a training grant (5–T32-AI 070183–03) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

We are indebted to William Darrow, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control Task Force on AIDS and to Rebecca Reiss, M.P.H., of the New York City Department of Health for performing patient interviews; to Michela Catalano, M.D., for assisting in the evaluation of Subjects 5 and 7; to Stephen Baum, M.D., for performing the electron microscopy; and to Mrs. Joyce Sloman for assistance in preparing the manuscript.

Author Affiliations

From the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and the Divisions of Immunopathology and Virology, Department of Pathology, Montefiore Medical Center, the Bronx; the Department of Medicine, North Central Bronx Hospital; and the Departments of Medicine and Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Bronx. Address reprint requests to Dr. Harris at the Division of Infectious Diseases, Montefiore Medical Center, 111 E. 210th St., Bronx, NY 10467.

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