Effect of HIV-2 Infection on HIV-1 Disease Progression

Abstract

To the Editor: Esbjörnsson and colleagues (July 19 issue)(1) conclude that infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) attenuates the course of HIV-1 infection. Their report raises three issues. First, in Guinea-Bissau, up to 30% of persons infected with both HIV-1 and HIV-2 have coinfection with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1),(2) a circumstance that leads to an increased percentage of CD4+ T cells.(3) The authors did not control for coinfection with HTLV-1, a condition that may well have contributed to the high percentage of CD4+ T cells among persons with dual HIV infection. Second, despite the study's . . .