Low risk of mother-to-child transmission of human T lymphotropic virus type II in non-breast-fed infants. The NYC Perinatal HIV Transmission Collaborative Study.
The transmissibility of human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type II from mother to child was investigated. Of 236 women enrolled during pregnancy in a study of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus in 1986-1988, 21 (8.9%) were seropositive for HTLV-I/II. All 21 mothers were infected with HTLV-II by synthetic peptide testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). HTLV-II-infected women were older (median age, 34 vs. 28 years), more likely to be black (70% vs. 38%), and more likely to report past or current intravenous drug use (85% vs. 56%) than HTLV-II-uninfected women. Of 20 non-breast-fed infants born to 19 of these HTLV-II-infected women, none had detectable HTLV-II by PCR done on peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained at birth to 36 months of age. Serologic testing of these infants revealed gradual disappearance of HTLV-I/II antibody. While this study does not rule out the possibility of perinatal HTLV-II transmission, the data suggest that it occurs rarely in the absence of breast-feeding.
Kaplan
J E
JE
Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
Abrams
E
E
Shaffer
N
N
Cannon
R O
RO
Kaul
A
A
Krasinski
K
K
Bamji
M
M
Hartley
T M
TM
Roberts
B
B
Kilbourne
B
B
D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000382:microbiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies