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Reported data on the isolation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) from tears are controversial. The purpose of the study was to try to isolate HIV-1 from tears in a large sample of HIV-1-positive patients at different stages of infection. 53 tear samples were obtained from 50 patients. Additionally isolation of HIV-1 from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) was attempted. HIV-1 was isolated from none (= 0%) of the 53 tear samples. Isolation from PBL was successful depending on absolute CD4+ lymphocyte count and Walter Reed staging (Walter Reed stage 6: 83%; stage 2 to 5: 11%; p less than 0.0001). Treatment with zidovudine was not related to the frequency of HIV-1 isolation. These results suggest that tears of patients infected with HIV-1 contain low or no quantities of tissue-culture-infectious units of HIV-1. Nosocomial infection with HIV-1 from tears appears to be unlikely. The known precautions for the prevention of spread of viral disease in ophthalmological practice are sufficient and should be strictly followed.

Reactivation of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection by Immunoadsorption in Factor VIII Inhibitor Haemophilia

SummaryThe retrovirus LAV/HTLV III, highly likely to be responsible for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in some recipients of blood products, can be inactivated by chemical and/ or heat treatment, so the use of virus-inactivated factor VIII and factor IX preparations for treating hemophilia A and B has become important. We examined hemophilic children and found that those children treated since 1979 with virus-inactivated preparations did not develop antibodies against LAV/HTLV III. In contrast, 77% of patients treated with conventional factor VIII or factor IX preparations had antibodies against this virus.