title: Prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and HTLV-2 infection among Spanish drug users measured by HTLV-1 assay and HTLV-1 and -2 assay. HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Spanish Study Group.
abstract: The prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and HTLV-2 infection in 1992 and 1993 was determined by testing 2,152 specimens from injection drug users living in 11 geographic areas in Spain. Results obtained by an authentic HTLV-1 and -2 test were compared with those obtained by an HTLV-1 assay. HTLV infection was identified in 7 of 11 regions, with an overall prevalence of 2.5% (range, 0.4 to 11.5%). Fourty-four (81%) of 54 subjects were infected with HTLV-2; the viral strains in the remaining 10 subjects could not be serologically typed. Underestimation of HTLV infection because of the low sensitivities of HTLV-1 enzyme immunoassays for HTLV-2 antibody was relatively low (< 20%). Therefore, previous epidemiologic findings generated with HTLV-1 enzyme immunoassays appear to be reasonably accurate. Our results suggest that the rate of HTLV infection may have been increasing recently among Spanish drug users.
authors.affiliation: Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Henrard
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stephens
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dronda
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pujol
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buytendorp
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castro
mesh_terms: D003429:Cross Reactions; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies