The New York Case Revisited

This report provides us with the opportunity to consider whether the details of a single case with highly resistant HIV and rapid disease progression warranted the controversial alarm sounded by the New York City Department of Health.

In the wake of a press conference that generated extensive publicity (ACC March 2005, p. 21) and a latebreaker presentation at the Retrovirus Conference (ACC April 2005, p. 34), a case report of the New York City man who rapidly developed AIDS after being infected with a multidrug-resistant HIV has been published.

The general background of the case has already been reported. Succinctly, the patient is an MSM in his late 40s. After developing illness consistent with acute retroviral syndrome in November 2004, he tested HIV-positive in mid-December. Later that month, his CD4 count was 80 cells/mm³ and his viral load was 280,000 copies/mL. Based on a negative HIV test in May 2003, he was referred to the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center for ev…

Reviewing Author

Gerald H. Friedland, MD

The New York Case Revisited

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Reviewing Author