DIAGNOSIS OF HIV-INFECTION FROM BLOODSTAINS BY PCR - A FURTHER MARKERFOR IDENTIFICATION

The forensic usefulness of the detection of HIV infection in bloodstai ns is linked to the increasing spread of HIV infection and the consequ ent rise in the number of forensic cases involving HIV-positive subjec ts. This study was designed to detect HIV infection in bloodstains of various ages obtained from HIV-positive patients treated with zidovudi ne (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, AZT) us ing PCR methods. Of the 3 kind s of extraction and amplification methods checked, only a nested PCR m ethod for the amplification of a sequence located in the HIV Reverse T ranscriptase (RT) region was successful. This method, involving 2 ampl ification steps (1: fragment of 768 bp; 2: codons 41-67-70-215-219), e ncompasses the mutations commonly observed during AZT therapy and over comes the limitations inherent in serological testing. The discriminat ory power of the method can detect specific mutation patterns in the R T gene linked to drug resistance and compares the specific pattern of the bloodstain with fresh blood or other specimens from the subject in question.