title: No evidence for true HTLV-I or HIV-1 antibodies in Finnish Lapps.
abstract: Previous seroepidemiologic studies have suggested that in addition to certain subtropical and tropical parts of the world, human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) may be endemic in the arctic regions, too. We studied 111 sera collected from original inhabitants of Finnish Lapland with ELISA and Western blot analysis for antibodies to HTLV-I and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). No true positive sera for either virus were found in the confirmatory Western blot assays, albeit 6 and 2%, respectively, were positive in the screening ELISA assays. Despite the small sample size this survey does not support the hypothesis that HTLV-I would be endemic in the Arctic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ranki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kirjarinta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karvonen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saxinger
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ashorn
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Safai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krohn
mesh_terms: D001110:Arctic Regions; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D015483:HIV Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology*; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D015483:HIV Antibodies; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies