The confirmation of infection with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) currently involves multiple assays. These include Western blot (immunoblot) (WB) and/or radioimmunoprecipitation assay for detection of antibodies to HTLV-specific viral proteins and polymerase chain reaction and/or peptide-based enzyme immunoassays for differentiating between the two viruse...

The human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) family includes members associated with T-cell cancers (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) as well as the etiological agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HTLV-III). Molecular clones of these viruses were used in heteroduplex mapping experiments to study their structural and evolutionary relationships. The HTLV-I subgroup, despite some restriction enzyme ...

The Albuquerque branch of the United Blood Services system was found to have an unusually high blood donor human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) seroprevalence (0.72 per 1,OOO). Many studies investigating HTLV seroprevalence and transmission have assumed that all seropositivity is due to HTLV type I (HTLV-I); recent data dispute this conclusion. We investigated the high prevalence of HTLV...

Infection with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1/2 (HTLV-1/2) is a major health problem. HTLV-1/2 infection is endemic in Chile but representative donor prevalence data are lacking. Data on all blood donors in a large network of Chilean blood centers were examined during 2011-2013. Screening of HTLV-1/2 antibodies were measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) at all blood banks. Blood samples with ...

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus 1 and 2 (HTLV-1, HTLV-2) belong to the Retroviridae family, genus Deltaretrovirus1,2 and have similar biological properties, with tropism of T lymphocytes. They are associated with rare lymphoproliferative diseases.3,4 Brazil has a high seroprevalence of HTLV-1/2 among blood donors. The mean prevalence ranges from 0.4/1000 in Florianópolis to 10.0/1000 in São Luí...

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis in small subsets of HTLV-1 carriers. HTLV-1-specific T-cell responses play critical roles in anti-viral and anti-tumor host defense during HTLV-1 infections. Some HTLV-1 carriers exhibit selective loss or anergy of HTLV-1-specific T-cells at an asymptomati...

INTRODUCTION Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) is endemic in Brazil, but few studies have investigated the seroprevalence of HTLV and its subtypes among blood donors in the capital city Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. AIM To estimate the seroprevalence of HTLV-1/2 and to identify circulating subtypes among blood donors in Manaus. MATERIALS AND METHODS Blood donors (2001-200...

In countries with a low prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection, indeterminate HTLV serologies are a major problem in blood bank screening because of the uncertainties about infection in these cases. The recent discovery of two new types of simian T-lymphotropic viruses (STLV), which give an HTLV-indeterminate serology, raises the question whether indeterminate serologies in h...

Human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is a retrovirus that is not lysed by human serum or complement. It has not been determined, however, whether HTLV-I directly binds to complement components or whether it retains infectivity after incubation with human serum. We investigated the effects of human serum on the infectivity of cell-free HTLV-I produced by human and animal cells. Plating of...

Epidemiological studies conducted in Peru disclosed HTLV-1 to be prevalent in different ethnic groups, and found HTLV-2 in some Amazonian Indians and in men who have sex with men. No data concerning HTLV-1/2 infection in blood donors from Arequipa, a highlands region in southern Peru, is available. We searched for the presence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 antibodies in 2,732 serum samples obtained from...