If anything marked the blood work of AIDS patients, Klatzmann said, it was the virtual absence of T-4 lymphocytes. The virus appeared so deadly that it killed its host cells, which might render fruitless a search for the virus in the blood. Given the fact that lymphadenopathy appeared to be some kind of early symptom of AIDS, it made more sense to try to find the culprit while it was still proliferating and not after it had delivered the coup de grace to so many T-4 cells. This line of inquiry turned out to be one of the most momentous in the scientific history of the AIDS epidemic.
