Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Protozoal Infections , Communicable Diseases, Imported , Rare Diseases , Central Nervous System Protozoal Infections/diagnosis , Central Nervous System Protozoal Infections/genetics , Communicable Diseases, Imported/diagnosis , Communicable Diseases, Imported/genetics , Fatal Outcome , Humans , Metagenomics , Rare Diseases/diagnosis , Rare Diseases/geneticsABSTRACT
Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2), the second retrovirus that causes the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in humans, is limited in its distribution to West Africa. We report cases in two Saudi families with HIV-2 infection and AIDS, resulting in death of the index cases-the husbands, while the wives and a daughter were maintained on antiretroviral therapy. When HIV viral loads were undetectable in initial assays, further testing confirmed the presence of HIV-2. In the first family, the 30-year-old wife was found to be HIV-positive after the diagnosis in her 30-year-old husband, who later died with AIDS. In the second family, HIV-2 infection was diagnosed in the 50-year-old wife and 18-year-old daughter of a man who had died of AIDS at the age of 48 years. Recognizing HIV-2 infection is essential for appropriate workup, assessment, therapy and care of the pregnant woman.
