High Titers of Cytopathic Virus in Plasma of Patients with Symptomatic Primary HIV-1 Infection

HUMAN immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), 1 2 3 a chronic illness characterized by progressive immune and neurologic dysfunction. HIV-1 also causes an acute viral syndrome 4 with variable manifestations, most frequently fever, lymphadenopathy, pharyngitis, and rash. HIV-1 has been cultured during primary infection from peripheral-blood lymphocytes, plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid, 5 6 7 and HIV-1 p24 antigen has been detected transiently in plasma, 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 but no studies have systematically quantified infectious virus in plasma or characterized temporal changes in the level of viremia during this period of transition from acute to chronic disease. The genotypic and biologic characteristics of the strains . . .