The Walter Reed Staging Classification for HTLV-III/LAV Infection

Abstract

Before the identification of the human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV) as the cause of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the clinical recognition of this disease depended on the occurrence of secondary opportunistic infections and certain neoplastic processes.1 However, focusing on the late complications of HTLV-III infections severely limits the clinical appreciation of the spectrum of disease as related to the causative agent. Although the natural history of HTLV-III infection is only partially defined, it is clear that patients with AIDS represent only a minority of the patients who have been infected. The clinical presentation of patients with . . .