Acquired immune deficiency syndrome associated with hemophilia in the United States.

: Persons with hemophilia and other coagulation disorders were at risk for infection with HIV as a result of receiving blood products, particularly concentrated clotting factors. Because these products are now donor-screened and heat-treated to inactivate HIV, the risk of further infection in this population has been minimized. However, before the introduction of these interventions, many persons with hemophilia had been infected. As of Jan 4, 1988, 463 cases of hemophilia-associated AIDS had been reported to the Centers for Disease Control. Most patients had severe hemophilia and received commercially produced concentrated clotting factors. These patients may constitute as many as 25% of those hemophilic men known to be infected with HIV. Through heterosexual and perinatal transmission, the partners and offspring of persons with hemophilia can become infected with HIV. The seroprevalence rate for female sex partners of men with hemophilia may be as high as 21%, and 16 AIDS cases have already been reported. Counseling and public health interventions are needed to prevent the further spread of HIV infection in sex partners and offspring of these patients and to prevent the associated morbidity and fatalities. Because HIV infection can be transmitted by exposure to infected blood or blood components, health-care workers whose activities involve contact with infected blood or body fluids are also at risk for HIV infection. Prospective studies suggest this risk is very low; nevertheless, health-care workers need to adhere rigorously to infection-control precautions to minimize the risk of exposure to blood and body fluids. These precautions include wearing gloves, masks, protective eyewear, and gowns depending on the type of exposure anticipated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)