Prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido of Japan.
Sera and peripheral blood lymphocytes of 40 adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients in non-ATL-endemic Hokkaido were examined for the prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I). All patients had HTLV-I-specific antibodies. When the peripheral lymphocytes were assessed after short-term cultivation, HTLV-I antigens and virus particles were detected. The seroprevalence in 96 cases of non-T-cell leukemias and lymphomas and in 30,056 healthy individuals in Hokkaido were 3.1% and 0.7%, respectively. HTLV-I seropositive inhabitants of Hokkaido can be estimated at about 40,000, and one out of every few thousand HTLV-I carriers is likely to develop ATL.
Iwanaga
M
M
Department of Virology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Takada
K
K
Fujiwara
S
S
Oikawa
O
O
Sugiura
M
M
Imai
S
S
Osato
T
T
Mikuni
C
C
Maekawa
I
I
Miyazaki
T
T
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies