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 . . .