Epidemic transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in renal dialysis centers in Egypt

In 1993 an epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection occurre d among 39 patients at 2 renal dialysis centers in Egypt, The centers, priv ate center A (PCA) and university center A (UCA) were visited, HIV-infected patients were interviewed, seroconversion rates at UCA were calculated, an d relatedness of HIV strains was determined by sequence analysis; 34 (62%) of 55 patients from UCA and 5 (42%) of 12 patients from PCA were HIV-infect ed. The HIV seroconversion risk at UCA varied significantly with day and sh ift of dialysis session. Practices that resulted in sharing of syringes amo ng patients were observed at both centers. The analyzed V3 loop sequences o f the HIV strain of 12 outbreak patients were >96% related to each other. V 3 loop sequences from each of 8 HIV-infected Egyptians unrelated to the 199 3 epidemic were only 76%-89% related to those from outbreak strains, Dialys is patients may be at risk for HIV infection if infection control guideline s are not followed.