The search for human infection with simian type D retroviruses

Retroviruses common among macaques in US primate colonies are rare in humans. A group of simian type D viruses, which cause diseases similar to human AIDS, were studied after one strain was found in an HIV patient with lymphoma. Four hundred twenty-seven subjects in three groups were tested for these retrovirus types, including 375 patients with non-Hodgkin's, Hodgkin's, and chronic lymphoproliferative lymphomas, 75 of whom were HIV-positive, and seven patients with unexplained low T-helper cell counts. Also included were 45 blood donors, 37 of whom had inconclusive tests for human T-lymphocyte virus I/II (HTLV I/II) and eight of whom were negative for HTLV I/II. Using standardized assay methods as well as sophisticated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) DNA probing methods, researchers found no samples positive for the simian type D viruses. They concluded that the viruses are rare in the groups tested, but further research on different groups should continue.