prevalence of seropositivity for human t lymphocytes virus in patients with hereditary bleeding diseases in population of west azerbaijan

background and aims: human t-lymphotropic virus (htlv) is a human retrovirus which has been known to cause adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma and some other inflammatory disorders. patients with hereditary bleeding diseases are at high risk for these viruses. in this study, we evaluated serological htlv-i/ii infection among these patients in west azerbaijan of iran. material and methods: we studied 50 hemophiliacs including 43 males and 7 females. serum samples were screened for anti-htlv-i and ii using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. western blot method was applied on borderline results for confirmation. results and conclusions: all studied patients were seronegative for htlv-i/ii and serologic evidence of htlv i/ii infection was not found in any of patients. based on our results, blood donor population of urmia must be increased to achieve more accurate results.