RESUMEN
A serologic study of hepatitis and HIV infections among intravenous drug abusers with hepatitis was conducted at the "Francisco J. Muniz" Infectious Diseases Hospital in Buenos Aires Argentina. The population studies consisted of 99 hospital patients who were intravenous drug abusers presenting a clinical and humoral picture of hepatitis, all of whom received care at the hospital between December 1986 and September 1987. The median age of the study subjects were males, including four whose sexual orientation was homosexual/bisexual. All the study subjects were intravenous cocaine addicts, and some were intravenous users of other drugs as well. Serologic test for hepatitis A and B markers, for the delta agent, and for HIV-1 indicated that 87 of the 99 subjects had hepatitis B virus infections. Sixty-two (including five coinfected with the deltal agent) have acute cases and 25 (including four coinfected with the delta agent) had chronic cases. Two of the subjects had acute cases of hepatitis A, and the 10 remaining subjects had non A non B hepatitis. Forty-seven of the study subjects were also found to be infected with HIV-1, the prevalence of HIV-1 infection being about the same in males and females. Only 10 of these subjects had traveled outside the county (to Bolivia or Brazil), and so in most cases it appears that the HIV-12 infection was acquired in Argentina. This 47 percent prevalence is