Low Prevalence of Antibodies against Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Finnish Haemophiliacs

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Abstract
National yearly surveys were carried out between 1985 and 1989 to determine the prevalence of antibodies for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Finnish patients with bleeding disorders. From 192 out of the 214 haemophiliacs (90%) tested, 2 patients were positive for anti-HIV. No seropositivities were found after 1985. Fourteen out of 21 patients (67%) with type III von Willebrand's disease, and 7 out of 8 patients (88%) with factor XIII deficiency were tested with negative results. The low prevalence of anti-HIV (0.94%; 2/213 tested), is mainly due to the self-sufficiency for clotting factors, the low prevalence of HIV in the population, and the use of cryoprecipitate during the critical period.