Human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) among female prostitutes in Kinshasa, Zaire.
Three hundred seventy-seven prostitutes from Kinshasa, Zaire, were enrolled in a study to determine associated risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection. Twelve samples (3.2%) were seropositive for HTLV-I; results for HIV-1 (101 [26.8%]) are reported elsewhere. HTLV-I prevalence increased with age, and seven of the seropositive women originated from the Equateur region, a remote area in northwestern Zaire. The prevalence among women from Equateur (7.2%) was higher than that of women from all other regions (1.8%, P = .02). Presence of HTLV-I antibodies was not associated with frequency or type of sex practice. In a subsequent study, 350 serum samples were obtained from a variety of subjects in the Equateur region in 1986. Nineteen (5.4%) showed antibodies to HTLV-I. These data and a recent report of a cluster of patients with tropical spastic paraparesis from this region suggest that HTLV-I is endemic in the Equateur region of Zaire.
Wiktor
S Z
SZ
Viral Epidemiology Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Piot
P
P
Mann
J M
JM
Nzilambi
N
N
Francis
H
H
Vercauteren
G
G
Blattner
W A
WA
Quinn
T C
TC
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000453:epidemiology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011477:Sex Work; D012747:Sexual Partners
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies