Prevalencia de infección por virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana en individuos tatuados

The transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to tattoos has been suggested and is theoretically possible. Thus, from the beginning the HIV pandemic, the realization of tattoos has been considered a risk factor. However, because most studies have been conducted in the prison population, where there are other risk factors, the causal relationship between this practice and HIV infection continues to be little known. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HIV infection in the population of the Hospital de Quemados “Arturo U. Illia”, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and its relationship to the type of tattoo. The present study included all the patients who came to the Hospital de Quemados “Arturo U. Illia” for the removal of the tattoo in a five-year period. Anti-HIV 1 and 2 antibodies and the P24 antigen were determined in serum.A self-administered questionnaire was provided to each patient to be able to record data of sex, age, type of tattoo (professional or homemade), number of tattoos, habit of intravenous drug addiction, unsafe sexual practices and prison imprisonment. If the patient recognized at least one of these last three characteristics, he/she was excluded from the analysis. A total of 334 patients were included: 205 (61.3 %) were males and 129 females. The mean age was 24.6 years (range 17.0 to 42.3 years). Detection of anti-HIV 1 and 2 antibodies and P24 antigen was negative in all the individuals studied. The population studied did not include any patient with a history.