This is much lower than the national average of 13.9% and the reported rate of 29.8% in predominantly young women attending emergency units in the Eastern Cape Province where our unit is situated.33 Untreated HIV may be protective against the development of SLE, since CD4 T lymphocytes play an integral role in the pathophysiology of SLE development.34 This may explain the low prevalence of HIV in our LN cohort. This evidence concerns the gene CD4 and systemic lupus erythematosus.