Human T-Lymphotropic Virus 1 (Htlv-1) and Human T-Lymphotropic Virus 2 (Htlv-2): Geographical Research Trends and Collaboration Networks (1989-2012)

Abstract

Publications are often used as a measure of research work success. Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type 1 and 2 are human retroviruses, which were discovered in the early 1980s, and it is estimated that 15-20 million people are infected worldwide. This article describes a bibliometric review and a coauthorship network analysis of literature on HTLV indexed in PubMed in a 24-year period. A total of 7,564 documents were retrieved, showing a decrease in the number of documents from 1996 to 2007. HTLV manuscripts were published in 1,074 journals. Japan and USA were the countries with the highest contribution in this field (61%) followed by France (8%). Production ranking changed when the number of publications was normalized by population (Dominican Republic and Japan), by gross domestic product (Guinea-Bissau and Gambia), and by gross national income per capita (Brazil and Japan). The present study has shed light on some of the defining features of scientific collaboration performed by HTLV research community, such as the existence of core researchers responsible for articulating the development of research in the area, facilitating wider collaborative relationships and the integration of new authors in the research groups.

Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 and 2 among people who used illicit drugs in the state of Pará, northern Brazil

“…Different epidemiological characteristics of HTLV-1/2 have been reported in geographic areas and specific population groups 2–4 . HTLV-1 has a worldwide distribution, but it is considered endemic in Brazil with low prevalence in the general population 3,5,35 .…”

“…The human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) belongs to the family Retroviridae, subfamily Oncovirinae, and genus Deltaretrovirus. There are four types (HTLV-1, HTLV-2, HTLV-3 and HTLV-4), but only HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 are associated with chronic infections in humans, and more than 95% of infected individuals remain as asymptomatic carriers for the duration of their lives 1,2 . Based on the nucleotide diversity of its long terminal repeat (LTR) region, HTLV-1 has been classified in seven genetic subtypes (1a-1g), and HTLV-2 in four subtypes (2a-2d) 1,3,4 .…”

“…Based on the nucleotide diversity of its long terminal repeat (LTR) region, HTLV-1 has been classified in seven genetic subtypes (1a-1g), and HTLV-2 in four subtypes (2a-2d) 1,3,4 . HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections are widely distributed worldwide, with high or moderate endemicity in some regions such as southwestern Japan, sub-Saharan Africa, and specific areas of Iran and Melanesia 2–4 . In the Americas, high rates were recorded in Brazil and in Caribbean countries 1–3 .…”

From cut-points to key players in co-authorship networks: a case study in ventilator-associated pneumonia research

“…This is evidenced by the average distance (5.22) and the high modularity (0.92) (Liu and Xia 2015;Watts and Strogatz 1998). Although the largest component includes more than half the authors (54.33%) writing on the topic, this level of integration is lower than that observed in other areas of biomedical research, where values of 70% to 95% have been observed (González-Alcaide et al 2016;Vanni et al 2014;Yu et al 2013). This, together with the elevated index of transience (80.54%)-higher in the VAP field than in areas like psoriasis (González-Alcaide et al 2015), and the fact that only authors from the USA, Canada and some European countries participate in the main research sub-network, indicates some compartmentalization and dispersion in the research area analyzed.…”

Clinical and laboratory features of HTLV-I asymptomatic carriers and patients with HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Worldwide, around 5-10 million people may be infected with the human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) with high prevalences in southern Japan, parts of West Africa, the Caribbean Islands, Melanesia and South America 1 , 2 . Brazil is considered one of the largest endemic areas of HTLV-I and associated diseases, and the city of Salvador, capital of the State of Bahia presents the highest prevalence (1.76% in the overall population) 3 .…”