Protection from HIV-1 infection by HIV-2

Analysis of data from a cohort of female commercial sex workers in Dakar, Senegal yielded estimates of the protective efficacy of HIV-2 ranging from 52 to 74%, depending on the study design. Further unbiased studies of the interaction of HIV-1 and HIV-2, controlling for important confounders, are important in determining the generalizability of the noted protective effect. In recent letters to AIDS, Aaby et al. and Ariyoshi et al. suggested that the protective efficacy of HIV-2 is not generalizable to other cohorts. However, these conclusions are based on biased studies of insufficient statistical power. In addition, Aaby et al. present data that are inconsistent with their own previous reports, subject to significant HIV-1 misdiagnosis, and which are suboptimally analyzed. This was attributed to the acute retroviral syndrome that is known to occur at the time of seroconversion in those exposed to HIV-1.