title: A historical study of human T lymphotropic virus type I transmission in Barbados.
abstract: A 1972 historic sera collection from two health districts in Barbados, British West Indies, was evaluated for risk factors and epidemiologic patterns of HTLV-I (human T cell leukemia virus type I) during a time prior to the first report of its discovery in 1980. HTLV-I seroprevalence is 4.2% (43 of 1,012) and is consistent with current estimates in endemic areas in the Caribbean. Age-dependent rise (P less than .01) and higher seroprevalence rates for females (P less than .01) are indistinguishable from the pattern in contemporary Caribbean and Japanese populations. HTLV-I seropositivity was 4 times higher in women (P less than .003) and 2.6 times higher in men (P = .32) with treponemal antibodies, supporting a role for sexual transmission. Children who were positive in a household were more likely to have a seropositive mother than a seropositive father. This pattern is consistent with transmission of the virus from mother to child. Our results document that rates of infection and modes of transmission of HTLV-I are persistent.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saxinger
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Blattner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001460:Barbados; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications; D003715:Dengue / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012409:Rubella / Q000150:complications; D012737:Sex Factors; D014211:Treponemal Infections / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies