Human immunodeficiency virus infection in the blood donors of Delhi, India

The prevalence of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is increasing in India. The group of people with the greatest infection rate is prostitutes, who spread the virus to others through heterosexual relationships. Blood from both paid and unpaid donors in Delhi, India was screened for contamination with HIV. The screening was done using a test for the presence of antibodies against HIV. None of 8,000 unpaid donors were infected with HIV, but four out of 1,700 (0.23 percent) of the paid donors were infected. The presence of HIV in the blood of the four antibody-positive individuals was confirmed by Western blot analysis, in which proteins of the virus were detected. This study indicates that HIV infection is present in the group of individuals who are paid for donating blood in India. It is thought that the paid donors probably acquired their infection from prostitutes. Blood that is donated must be screened for the presence of HIV before use. The government of India has already begun screening every unit of donated blood in the major cities in India. Also, the use of paid donors must be discouraged, so that HIV is not transmitted to the general population in India. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)