Seroepidemiology of HTLV-I/II in Argentina: An Overview

Abstract

In this report, the results of seroepidemiologic studies of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) infections in different population groups in Argentina have been compiled. The studies have shown a high prevalence of HTLV-I/II infection in blood donors in the provinces in the north of Argentina (1.0% in Jujuy, 0.7% in Salta, and 0.6% in Formosa) and a low prevalence in the provinces in the central region of the country (<or=0.1%). High rates of HTLV-I (0.45%-2.78%) and HTLV-II (2.78%-21.9%) infections have been documented in Native Indian groups and have highlighted the importance of sexual and mother-to-child transmission of the viruses. The presence of HTLV-I/II antibodies in HIV-infected individuals indicates that both viruses are circulating in certain high-risk population groups. HTLV-I/II was detected in intravenous drug users (2.56%-21.7%), homosexual men (0.5-1.33%), prostitutes (0.8%), and hemophiliacs (2.8%). In conclusion, HTLV-I/II infection is circulating in low- and high-risk populations in Argentina, and these findings would support the view that selective screening for HTLV-I/II should be implemented to reduce the spread of infection.

Global epidemiology of HTLV-I infection and associated diseases

“…Somewhat lower seroprevalence rates are found in several countries in South America (Castillo et al, 2000;Carneiro-Proietti et al, 2002;Kazanji and Gessain, 2003;Catalan-Soares et al, 2004;Pouliquen et al, 2004), although to our knowledge, no studies from representative samples of the general population have been conducted so far in South America. Data from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Peru are for the most part restricted to blood donors (up to 2% of seropositivity to HTLV-I/II) (Galvao-Castro et al, 1997; Kazanji and Gessain, 2003; Leon et al, 2003;Sanchez-Palacios et al, 2003;Gastaldello et al, 2004), pregnant women and samples of specific native populations (Ishak et al, 2003), as well as IDU from Brazil.…”

Retrospective study of the prevalence of human T‐cell lymphotropic virus‐type 1/2, HIV, and HBV in pregnant women in Argentina

“…HTLV-1 is found worldwide and it is endemic in Southern Japan, the Caribbean Islands, Central and South America, Melanesian Islands, and some regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, while HTLV-2 reaches high prevalence in native American populations, pigmy tribes of Central Africa, and among intravenous drug users in various regions of North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia [Gastaldello et al, 2004;Taylor et al, 2005].…”

“…HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 are known to be circulating in different regions and population groups in Argentina [Gastaldello et al, 2004]. In the province of Córdoba (second most populated province of Argentina) the infection has been described in blood donors (prevalences of 0.019-0.06%), homosexuals/bisexuals (1.33%), intravenous drug users (2.56%), hemophiliacs (2.8%), and hemodialyzed patients (0.5%) [Gastaldello et al, 2004].…”

Seroprevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection (HTLV1) in different patients in the north of Iran

“…(35) 1200 (100) donor group (Hjelle et al, 1990). Also, this infection was higher in neurological conditions such as T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), HAM/TSP, acute disseminated encephalomyeliti (ADEM), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis syndrome (ALS), myopathy, neuropathies and multiple sclerosis (MS) (Gastaldello et al, 2004;Iwasaki, 1990;Dalakas, 2006;Barkhaus and Morgan, 1988), but in our study, there were no positive cases in these groups. In other studies, HTLV1 infection and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma did not appear to have any significant correlation (Oger, 2007).…”