Death from the 'visna variant' of AIDS

Late in 1985, Serwadda and colleagues reported an entity in Uganda presumably caused by the AIDS virus which was called "slim disease". The symptoms comprised severe wasting leading to death, associated with diarrhoea and modereate immune suppression. The authors consider that they have now seen such a case in South Africa. This case illustrates that the AIDS virus can kill by causing severe wasting and death within 11 weeks without a significant persistent opportunistic infection, malignant disease or profound diarrhoea. They prefer the term "visna variant" to slim disease.