title: Evidence of HTLV-I infection in Singapore prostitutes.
abstract: Sera obtained in 1987 from 63 male and 632 female Singapore prostitutes were screened for antibody to human T-cell leukaemia virus (HTLV)-I with a particle agglutination test. Of the 3 males and 4 females who were positive one had antibody to HTLV-I core and envelope antigen on Western Blot. Two subjects had presumptive antibody to HTLV-I core antigen and a third subject had such antibody on a repeat specimen in 1989. These sera were negative for HIV-1 antibody. There is evidence of infection with HTLV-I or a variant virus in this population. The infection is likely to have been sexually transmitted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Sng
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thirumoorthy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sng
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Blattner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011477:Sex Work; D012846:Singapore
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens