Abstract
To the Editor: Several recent reports have documented the presence of specific antibody to lymphadenopathy-associated virus/human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type III (LAV/HTLV-III) in serum collected in central Africa as early as 1972.1 These studies have led to the hypothesis that LAV/HTLV-III or its predecessor originated in Africa.1 , 2 However, comparable studies from other regions of the developing world are lacking. We present the results of assays for antibody to LAV/HTLV-III in serum collected in Sri Lanka between 1980 and 1982.Screening for specific antibody was performed on 318 serum samples by means of commercially available kits for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA, . . .