Blood in saliva of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: Possible implication in sexual transmission of the disease

Abstract

The presence and concentration of haemoglobin in saliva of anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive subjects, anti-HIV-negative subjects at high risk of infection, and healthy controls were studied. One hundred eighty-eight subjects were anti-HIV-positive intravenous drug abusers (IVDA), 22 were anti-HIV-positive homosexual men, 23 were anti-HIV-positive heterosexual contacts, 132 were anti-HIV-negative IVDA, 35 were anti-HIV-negative homosexual men, and 154 were healthy controls. Two milliliters of saliva was collected in the morning before brushing teeth, and the presence and the concentration of haemoglobin were determined. Based on hemoglobin, the data show that the anti-HIV-positive IVDA have the highest tendency to bleeding. The difference between this group with respect to anti-HIV-negative IVDA (P < 0.05) and compared with healthy controls (P < 0.01) is statistically significant. This is also true of anti-HIV-positive heterosexual contacts with respect to healthy controls (P < 0.01). Our data show that all at-risk groups, both anti-HIV positive and anti-HIV negative, have higher haemoglobin concentration than the control group; this difference reaches statistical significance only between anti-HIV-positive IVDA and controls (P < 0.01). The concentration of haemoglobin is significantly higher in subjects with CD4+ lymphocytes < 200/mm3 compared to subjects with CD4+ lymphocytes > 200/mm3 (P < 0.01), in subjects with AIDS-related complex (ARC)/AIDS compared to asymptomatic/PGL subjects (P < 0.01), and in subjects with stomatitis compared to subjects without stomatitis (P < 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Proviral HIV-1 DNA in Gingival Crevicular Fluid of HIV-1-infected Patients in Various Stages of HIV Disease

“…Piazza et al (1989Piazza et al ( , 1994 showed that blood was present in the saliva of 50% of healthy subjects without visible lesions of the oral mucosa and in the saliva of 65.7% of HIV-1-seropositive subjects. There was no significant correlation between the detection of blood and cell-associated HIV-1 in GCF samples from the HIV-1seropositive patients examined.…”

Comparison of saliva and serum for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibody testing in Uganda using a rapid recombinant assay

“…The loss of salivary anti-HIV-1 immunoglobulin A antibodies that occurs during symptomatic HIV-1 infection (12, 17) is not expected to affect the sensitivity of TestPack because the secondary antibody used is specific for human immunoglobulin G according to the package insert (Abbott Laboratories). The hemoglobin concentration in saliva has been found to be higher in HIV-1-infected patients with low circulating counts of CD4 lymphocytes (14) probably because of frank bleeding from HIV-1-related oral pathology, such as candida stomatitis and aphthous ulcers. Transudation of serum or frank bleeding into the oral cavity would be expected to increase the concentration of immunoglobulin G in saliva (9) and probably accounts for our observation of increased sensitivity of saliva antibody testing in more-symptomatic patients.…”

Viral Diseases Transmissible by Kissing

“…HIV can indeed be isolated from saliva, but infrequently. 180 Saliva may of course, also contain blood 181 and it has been suggested that HIV may be transmitted after deep kissing, 182 especially if there is blood in the mouth. 183 Hemoglobin concentrations in saliva are higher in HIVpositive intravenous drug abusers (IVDA) than in HIV-negative IVDA and controls, and in AIDS a mean of 1.3 µL blood/mL saliva has been estimated.…”