HIV - 2 Infections from a Tertiary Care Hospital in India - A Case Report

Abstract

Approximately 2.1 million people are currently living with HIV AIDS in India [1]. In 1986, the first case of HIV infection in India was detected among sex workers in Chennai [2]. In the same year, HIV-2 was isolated from AIDS patients in West Africa [3]. The first evidence of HIV-2 infection in India was provided in 1991 [4]. Since then it has been sporadically reported from various states of India. HIV-2 appears to be transmitted principally by sexual contact, with prostitutes being the well-studied group. The virus can also be spread by blood transfusion of infected blood. Compared to HIV-1, transmission of HIV-2 virus from an infected mother to her child seems to be less frequent. However, cases of transmission from an infected woman to her fetus have been reported among women who had primary HIV2 infection during their pregnancy [5]. The prevalence rate of HIV-2 infection in India is not available so far. The following is a report of HIV-2 infection from Delhi in North India.