assessment of htlv-i proviral load, hiv viral load and cd4 t cell count in infected subjects; with an emphasis on viral replication in co-infection

objective(s): htlv-i and hiv virus quantification is an important marker for assessment of virus activities. since there is a direct relationship between the number of virus and disease progression, htlv- i and hiv co-infection might have an influence on the development of viral associated diseases, thus, viral replication of these viruses and co-infection were evaluated.   materials and methods: in this study, 40 subjects were selected; 14 hiv infected, 20 htlv-i infected and 6 htlv-i/hiv co-infected subjects. the amount of viruses was measured using qpcr taqman method and cd4 and cd8 lymphocytes were assessed by flow cytometry. results: the mean viral load of hiv infected subjects and htlv-i infected individuals were 134626.07±60031.07 copies/ml and 373.6±143.3 copies/104 cells, respectively. the mean hiv viral load in co-infected group was 158947±78203.59 copies/ml which is higher than hiv infected group. the mean proviral load of htlv-i in co-infected group was 222.33±82.56 copies/ml which is lower than htlv-i infected group (p<0.05). also, the mean white blood cell count was higher in co-infected group (5666.67±1146.49 cells/μl). however, the differences between these subjects did not reach to a statistical significance within 95% confidence interval level (p =0.1). no significant differences were observed regarding cd4 and cd8 positive lymphocytes between these groups.   conclusion: htlv-i/hiv co-infection might promote hiv replication and could reduce the htlv-i proviral load, in infected cells. considering the presence of both viruses in khorasan provinces, it encourages researchers and health administrators to have a better understanding of co-infection outcome.