Seroprevalence of Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus-1/2 in Blood Donors in Northern Pakistan: Implications for Blood Donor Screening.

OBJECTIVE To determine the seroprevalence of Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-1/2 (HTLV-1/2) in blood donors in Northern Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion, Rawalpindi, from July to August 2013. METHODOLOGY A total of 2100 blood donors were screened for anti-HTLV-1/2 antibodies during the study period, in a pool of six, on a highly sensitive, Chemiluminiscent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) based system. The screening test-reactive donors were recalled, counseled and interviewed, and a fresh sample was obtained for confirmatory testing. Confirmation was performed using additional immunoassays including Line Immunoassay (LIA); with additional testing for HTLV-1 pvDNAPCR. Frequency and percentages were determined. RESULTS Four donors (0.19%) were repeatedly screening test-reactive and were subsequently confirmed to be HTLV-1 infected by line immunoassay and HTLV-1 pvDNAPCR. All four donors were male with mean age of 27 ± 6.27 years. Two (50%) of the positive donors gave history of Multiple Sexual Partners (MSP). CONCLUSION HTLV-1 seroprevalence in Northern Pakistan blood donors was determined to be 0.19%. Large scale studies, including the cost effectiveness of screening blood donations for anti-HTLV-1/2 in Pakistan, are recommended.