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Patients with HIV infection often suffer disabling gastrointestinal symptoms. In the past, the etiology of GI dysfunction was unclear when an opportunistic infection could not be identified. Now, Yolken and co-workers demonstrate a possible link between GI symptoms and HIV replication in the GI tract.
Children with and without HIV infection had their stool tested by a newly developed assay that detects HIV nucleic acids. Five of nine HIV-positive children with GI dysfunction had detectable HIV nucleic acids in their stool, versus only one of 10 HIV-positive children with no GI symptoms. All 21 HIV-negative children with diarrhea had negative assays. Most HIV-infected children had no other enteric pathogens detected in their stool.
Although HI…