Search

Recovery of herpes simplex virus (HSV) Type 1 from the blood buffy coat of four adults is reported for the first time. All of the patients had vesicular stomatitis and facial vesicles; two also had either keratoconjunctivitis or disseminated skin lesions. The infection was not the primary one with HSV in any of them. Two of three patients who had renal failure were receiving immunosuppressive drugs; one patient was normal except for alcoholism and diabetes. None developed signs of visceral organ infection and all recovered within 2 to 4 weeks. The findings demonstrate the occurrence of heretofore unrecognized nonfatal HSV Type 1 viremia in both healthy and immunosuppressed leukocytes, can occur regardless of the presence of serum antibody, and may or may not be associated with the disseminated lesions.

Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may cause viral antigenemia, detected primarily as p24 viral core protein. Among 16 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or AIDS-related complex studied serially, 12 had or developed antigenemia ranging from 16 to 3006 pg/mL in plasma. The level could be categorized as high (greater than 100 pg/mL) or low (15 to 65 pg/mL). Three patients with anti-p24 antibody had no antigenemia. Zidovudine (AZT), 200 or 250 mg every 4 hours, reduced antigenemia by about 90%; other regimens were less effective. Leukocyte cultures were positive for HIV from patients with antigenemia, and in one third of samples in the absence of antigenemia. High levels of antigenemia correlated with symptoms, CD4 cell count, and prognosis. Drug toxicity requiring a lower dose was followed by increased antigenemia, recurrent symptoms, and decreased CD4 cells, suggesting lymphocyte toxicity. Monitoring antigenemia can be useful in evaluating patients with HIV infection and in evaluating the effect of antiviral chemotherapy.