Lack of evidence for early cases of HIV seropositivity/AIDS in the Free State region.

The first case of HIV-1 infection in South Africas Free State was diagnosed in 1985. There is compelling evidence however that HIV-1 infection was present in Africa well before its official recognition. To investigate this possibility 14253 serum samples submitted to the diagnostic laboratory of the Department of Virology of the Orange Free State in 1978-84 were tested for antibodies to HIV-1 with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. No HIV-infected sera specimens were detected until 1984 in which year 2 persons (0.07%) were positive. Both patients were homosexual White men aged 32 and 39 years. Their presenting symptoms were lymphadenopathy and renal insufficiency. The finding of cases of late-stage HIV-associated disease in 1984 suggests that either HIV-1 was circulating in this region well before 1985 or the infections were acquired in another geographic area.