Serological and molecular survey for HTLV-I infection in a high-risk Middle Eastern group.
To define the extent of human T-cell leukaemia virus (HTLV-I) infection among a group of Jewish immigrants to Israel with an increased frequency of adult T-cell leukaemia, various serological and molecular screening methods, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for anti-HTLV-I, ELISA for antibody to recombinant HTLV-I p40tax protein, and molecular detection of infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of HTLV-I proviral DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA, were used. By HTLV-I ELISA the overall rate of infection was 12% (24 of 208) among immigrants from Khurusan, northeastern Iran; no HTLV-I carriers were detected among 111 unselected Jewish immigrants from other parts of Iran. There was unexplained clustering of HTLV-I infection within a cohort of 32 elderly women of similar geographic origin in a home for old people--14 were seropositive by ELISA and 19 of 29 were positive by PCR. The findings in this newly identified high-risk population suggest that in addition to ELISA, other screening techniques may be required to detect all carriers in high-risk populations.
Meytes
D
D
Schochat
B
B
Lee
H
H
Nadel
G
G
Sidi
Y
Y
Cerney
M
M
Swanson
P
P
Shaklai
M
M
Kilim
Y
Y
Elgat
M
M
D000368:Aged; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D007557:Israel; D007585:Jews; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies