title: HTLV seroepidemiology in a central African population with high incidence of tropical spastic paraparesis.
abstract: In Lisala (Equateur region, Zaire), where a cluster of tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) was described, 28/200 (14%) out-patients and hospital personnel were HTLV antibody positive. No differences in prevalences were observed between out-patients and hospital personnel or between ethnic groups. The annual attack rate of TSP/HAM is estimated at 0.15-0.3 per 1000 infected. The ethnic and familial clustering of TSP/HAM together with the high attack rate suggests the presence of co-factors for the progression to disease. This high prevalence of HTLV antibodies contrasts with the low prevalence in another part of the Equateur region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Rega Institute, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goubau
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carton
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kazadi
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Muya
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desmyter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies