查看文章

Human T-cell leukaemia virus type III (HTLV–III) is suspected of having a key role in the pathogenesis of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)^1–4. Epidemiological data suggest that AIDS is transmitted by an infectious agent through intimate contact with body secretions, blood or blood products⁵. To maintain haemostasis, many haemophiliac patients depend on commercially prepared clotting concentrates made from large multi-donor plasma pools and are thus at increased risk of developing the disease^6,7. We report here that, using indirect membrane immunofluorescence and radioimmunoprecipitation with SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we have detected antibodies to HTLV-III in 30 of 47 (64%) asymptomatic haemophiliacs and in all of three haemophiliacs who either had or soon developed AIDS. Of 34 samples drawn before 1984, 18 (53%) were antibody-positive, whereas of 16 samples …