title: Antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV among aboriginal Amazonian Indians in Venezuela.
abstract: Serum samples from 224 aboriginal Amazonian Indians were tested for antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV by an indirect immunofluorescence (IF) assay. 9 individuals (4%), 5 of them female, were seropositive by IF and by confirmatory western blotting and radioimmunoprecipitation tests. 3 of the positive sera were collected in 1968. HTLV-III/LAV seropositivity rates varied among the ethnic groups and ranged from 13.3% among the Pemon Indians to 3.3% among the Yanoama tribe. The titres of HTLV-III/LAV antibodies ranged from 1/40 to 1/320. All individuals tested were apparently healthy at the time of the study. None of 211 randomly chosen, healthy blood donors from Venezuelan cities had antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV. The prevalence of specific antibodies among Amazonian Indians suggests the HTLV-III/LAV or a closely related cross-reactive virus may be endemic in this area. The findings also indicate that this virus is indigenous in non-negroid Latin American and negroid tropical populations.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodriquez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dewhurst
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sinangil
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Merino
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Volsky
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral