Prevalence of Antibody to Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus among Drug-Detoxification Patients in New York

Abstract
To the Editor: Of the 4861 cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) through June 18, 1984, 852 (18 per cent) occurred in persons in whom intravenous-drug use was the only known risk factor. The great majority of such cases (82 per cent) have occurred in the New York-New Jersey area.1 Lymphadcnopathy-associatcd virus2 and human T-ccll lymphotropic virus III3 are human retroviruses recently associated with AIDS. This letter reports the seroprevalence of antibody to lymphadenopathy-associatcd virus among New York City drug-detoxification patients without diagnosed AIDS.Scrum specimens were collected from 86 intravenous-drug . . .