A retrospective case series study of the seroprevalence of Human T Lymphocyte Virus 1 and 2 from the General hospital Laboratory in Grenada

OBJECTIVE: HTLV-1 is a human retrovirus that causes adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATL) and some other conditions – HTLV-associated myelopathy (tropical spastic paraparesis, a multiple sclerosis-like disease), uveitis, infective dermatitis and some “auto immune” diseases. While the Caribbean has been identified as an HTLV-1 endemic area, there are no published studies on HTLV-1 from Grenada. The objective of this study was to anonymously review the General Hospital laboratory records to investigate the seroprevalence of HTLV-1 and 2 in Grenada. DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of the records from the General Hospital Laboratory in Grenada, where ELISA serologically positive results for HTLV 1 and 2 were recorded as a percentage of the total number of tests performed between the years 1998 - 2013. The Diasoren rapid ELISA serological test was used. RESULTS: During the 16 year review period (1998-2013) a total of 2,346 (4.7%: 95% CI: 4.5% to 4.9%) out of 49,782 patients were identified as HTLV-1 and 2 positive. Females with a median age of 34 years comprised 70% of positive cases whilst the median age for males was 43 years. The rate in Grenada has been steadily declining since 1998 and appears to be leveling off at about 3.7%. CONCLUSION: The current seroprevalence of HTLV 1 and 2 in Grenada is lower than that reported in 1991 in Jamaica (5%). The rate found is still unacceptably high and additional studies are required to determine the health consequences of HTLV-1 infection. Additionally appropriate public health programs should be applied to help reduce transmission.

HTLV in the Americas: challenges and perspectives

The first description of the human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was made in 1980 followed closely by the discovery of HTLV-2, in 1982. Since then, the main characteristics of these viruses, commonly referred to as HTLV-1/2, have been thoroughly studied. Central and South America and the Caribbean are areas of high prevalence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 and have clusters of infected people. The major modes of transmission have been through sexual contact, blood, and mother to child via breast-feeding. HTLV-1 is associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and HTLV-associated uveitis as well as infectious dermatitis of children. More clarification is needed in the possible role of HTLV in rheumatological, psychiatric and infectious diseases. Since cures for ATL and HAM/TSP are lacking and no vaccine is available to prevent HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 transmission, these illnesses impose enormous social and financial cost on infected individuals, their families, and health care systems. For this reason, public health interventions aimed at counseling and educating high-risk individuals and populations are of vital importance. In the Americas this is especially important in the areas of high prevalence(AU)

De prevalentie van humaan T-Lymfotroop virus type 1 en 2 bij bloeddonors en patienten met seksueel overdraagbare aandoeningen in Suriname / The prevalence of human T-Lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 in blood donors and patients with sexually transmitted diseases in Suriname

OBJECTIVE; To determine the prevalence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection in the population of Suriname in order to enhance the safety of blood transfusion in Suriname. DESIGN; Descriptive. SETTING; Academic Hospital, Paramaribo, Suriname. METHOD: Blood was examined of the 777 regular donors(constituting 97 procent of the total pool) who donated blood between 1 February and 1 June 1995 at the Blood Transfusion Centre of the Suriname Red Cross in Paramaribo, and also of the 140 patients with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) seen during the same period at the Dermatological centre of the Ministry of Health. All sera were sreened with particle agglutination. Sera which were not negative were subsequently tested with a western blot method which distinguishes between HTLV-1 and HTLV-2. RESUTLS. Three sera (0.4 percent) of the blood donors and 2(1.4 procent) of the STD patents were positive for HTLV-1(difference not significant). Nobody was found to be HTLV-2 positive. CONCLUSION; The HTLV-1 prevalence in the Suriname blood donors is similar to that of blood donors and general population of many regions in Brazil, but substantially lower than in several other regions in the Caribbean. Since examination of all donated blood is not a realistic option in Suriname it is recommended that all new regular blood donors should be tested for HTLV antibodies(AU)

Retroviruses and schizophrenia in Jamaica

Reports of an 18-fold higher incidence of schizophrenia among second-generation Afro-Caribbeans, and especially Jamaican migrants in the United Kingdom were soon called an epidemic of schizophrenia, with the inference that a novel virus, likely to be perinatally transmitted, was a possible etiological agent. This intriguing observation led us to explore a possible link with human T-cell lympotropic virus type one (HTLV-I), because it is a virus that is endemic in the Caribbean Island, is perinatally transmitted, known to be neuropathogenic, and the cause of a chronic myelopathy tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I associated myelopathy. We therefore examined inpatients as the Bellevue Mental Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica and did standard serological tests for retroviruses HTLV-I and HTLV-II and HIV-I and HIV-II on 201 inpatients who fulfilled ICD-9 and DSM II-R criteria for schizophrenia. Our results produced important negative data, since the seropositivity rates for HTLV-I, the most likely pathogen, were no greater than the seropositivity range for HTLV-I carriers in this island population, indicating the HTLV-I and the other retroviruses tested do not play a primary etiological role in Jamaican schizophrenics(AU)

Human T cell lymphotropic virus: necessity for and feasibility of a vaccine

Human T cell lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) are endemic in certain areas of the world. The cause two life-threatening diseases, adult T cell leukaemia/lymphoma and tropical spastic paraparesis. A vaccine is needed because in developing countries there are no other feasible preventive interventions against these diseases and in Western countries intravenous drug users at high risk for HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections and the health workers in contact with such populations must be protected. We have developed a rat model in which we observed variations of susceptibility to viral infection between inbred strains, the most susceptible being Fischer F344, and the possibility of viral latency in the nervous system. We have prepared a recombinant adenovirus vector that expresses the HTLV-I envelope glycoprotein env in HeLa cells. A target human population in French Guyana, in which the prevalence rate reaches 5.6 percent in one ethnic group (Bonis), has been identified for possible intervention (AU)