Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) in French Guiana: clinical and molecular epidemiology

Abstract

We review here the epidemiological studies performed by our group on human retrovirus HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections and the associated diseases in French Guiana since 1984. French Guiana is an overseas French administrative district located between Key words Retroviridae; HTLV-I; HTLV-II; Genetic Variability; T-cell Leukemia Resumo Os autores apresentam uma revisão dos estudos epidemiológicos realizados pelo seu grupo de pesquisa sobre a infecção pelos vírus T-linfotrópicos humanos tipo I (HTLV-I) e tipo II (HTLV-II) e doenças associadas na Guiana Francesa, desde 1984. A Guiana Francesa é um

Seroprevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I among pregnant women in Accra, Ghana

“…The HTLV-I seroprevalence of 2?1 % in Ghanaian pregnant women reported here agrees well with what is known about the endemicity of HTLV-I in West Africa and among ethnic groups of African origin (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003; Carles et al, 2004). For example, in French Guyana, the overall seroprevalence in pregnant women is 4?4 %, but it is more prevalent among ethnic groups of African origin, such as the Noir Marron population (5?5 %) and Haitians (6?3 %) (Carles et al, 2004).…”

“…Our observed rapid increase in seroprevalence with age and the low seroprevalence in the youngest age groups (Table 1) point to sexual contact as the primary mode of transmission among women of childbearing age, with only a small fraction attributable to breastfeeding during infancy. This is also consistent with reports from other endemic countries (Murphy et al, 1991;Kazanji & Gessain, 2003). Indeed, this suggests the importance of man-to-woman transmission in these pregnant women, as the duration of their sexual activity increases with age, whilst mother-to-child transmission would be the predominant route in the younger women/girls through breastfeeding during infancy.…”

“…The HTLV-I seroprevalence of 2?1 % among Ghanaian pregnant women reported here is comparable to the 3?1 % seroprevalence of HIV-1 and -2 among pregnant women in Ghana (Ministry of Health, 2004). A comparison of our results with similar studies around the world (Table 2) confirms the known endemicity of HTLV-I in Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean Basin and parts of South America, but not in Western Europe (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003).The policy of not screening for HTLV antibody in pregnant women and in blood and organ donors in most countries is based partly on its perceived low prevalence and on the low lifetime risk of its associated diseases, although the cost of antenatal and blood-donor screening could be limited by selecting those thought to be at high risk. With appropriate counselling, screening for HTLV should be accepted in the same light as testing for HIV, which recently has been recommended as part of the routine antenatal screening programme in several countries (Nightingale et al, 1993;Hanchard, 1996;Weber & Taylor, 1996;Hale et al, 1997;Otigbah et al, 1997;Taylor et al, 2005;Wiktor et al, 1997).…”

“…Population-based studies have reported the prevalence of antibody to HTLV-I to range from 3-6 % in Jamaica, Trinidad and the Caribbean islands to 23?2 % in Nagasaki Prefecture in south-western Japan (Blattner et al, 1990;Murphy et al, 1991; Kishihara et al, 2001). High HTLV-I seroprevalence rates (>2 % in the adult population) have been described in southern Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean Basin, parts of South America and some areas of Melanesia and the Middle East, where 15-20 million people are infected with this virus (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003). In every endemic population, there is an increase in HTLV-I seroprevalence with age, especially among women, reaching 40 % in women >50 years of age (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003).…”

“…High HTLV-I seroprevalence rates (>2 % in the adult population) have been described in southern Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean Basin, parts of South America and some areas of Melanesia and the Middle East, where 15-20 million people are infected with this virus (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003). In every endemic population, there is an increase in HTLV-I seroprevalence with age, especially among women, reaching 40 % in women >50 years of age (Kazanji & Gessain, 2003).HTLV-I is transmitted via infected lymphocytes by three main routes. Mother-to-child transmission, mainly due to ingestion of breast milk during breastfeeding, has been reported to be the predominant route (Tsuji et al, 1990).…”