POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION AMPLIFIED HTLV-I, HIV-1 AND HIV-2 DNA FRAGMENTS IN SUBJECTS WITH MIXED RETROVIRAL INFECTIONS

Serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from eight patients from the Ivory Coast with positive screening test results for retroviral in fections were studied by serology (ELISA, Western blot (WB), synthetic peptide test), cell co-culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two HIV-2 infections with indeterminate interpretation on HIV-1 WB wer e detected, two were clear dual HIV-1/HIV-2 infections, three were amb iguous mixed HIV-1/HIV-2 infections, and one was a triple retroviral i nfection by HTLV-I, HIV-1 and HIV-2. Four slow/low HIV-1 strains were isolated at the expense of HTLV-I and HIV-2 strains. The ELISA tests w ere found to be very sensitive. Indeterminate WB interpretations were frequent (HTLV-I, four; HIV-1, three; HIV-2, two). PCR provided clear evidence of multiple retroviral infections in three cases and enabled interpretation of indeterminate WB samples in three cases. One sample presented a puzzling pattern with positive PCR results for HIV-1 and H IV-2 associated with negative or indeterminate serological results. Th us, our data emphasise the need to analyse serological as well as viro logical markers to gain better insight on mixed retroviral infections, especially in endemic areas such as West Africa.