Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) in family members of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido of Japan.
Family members of patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido, the northernmost part of Japan, were assessed for the prevalence of HTLV-I infection. Immunofluorescence assay showed that 53 out of 133 (39.8%) healthy family members of 23 ATL patients were positive for antibodies to HTLV-I. When general inhabitants in Hokkaido were examined, 3 out of 18 (16.7%) family members of 5 seropositive healthy persons had HTLV-I antibodies. The overall seropositivity in Hokkaido was 0.7%. Of 26 family members of 6 patients with non-T-cell leukemia seroconverted by blood transfusion, none (0%) was seropositive.
Iwanaga
M
M
Department of Virology, Cancer Institute, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Fujiwara
S
S
Oikawa
O
O
Sugiura
M
M
Imai
S
S
Osato
T
T
Mikuni
C
C
Maekawa
I
I
Miyazaki
T
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens / Q000097:blood; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D015995:Prevalence
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens