A study of the CD4: CD8 ratio in peripheral T lymphocytes of rural Papua New Guineans: a reduced ratio assessed with regard to infectious agents.

The CD4:CD8 ratio in peripheral T lymphocytes was determined in 123 Papua New Guineans aged over 5 years from Rumginae, a rural area of the Western Province. 18 people had a ratio less than 1.0. No antibody response to human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV 1) was found within the group. Hepatitis B surface antigen was more commonly associated with a CD4:CD8 ratio less than 1.0 than were microfilaraemia or a positive Mantoux test. Hepatitis B infection may be one of the causes of the CD4:CD8 ratio reduction within the community. Irrespective of the cause, other studies in Papua New Guinea have shown that a CD4:CD8 ratio less than 1.0 may result more from an increase in the CD8 cell count than a reduction in the CD4 cell count.