Clustering of human T lymphotropic virus type I seropositive in Montserrat, West Indies: evidence for an environmental factor in transmission of the virus.
A community survey of human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in Montserrat, West Indies, identified 22 instances in which 2 HTLV-I-seropositive adults lived within 60 m of each other (close pairs), compared with 7.8 expected (P < .001). Five of these close pairs were mother-offspring or husband-wife. The remaining 17 pairs were of unrelated members in separate households. The percentages of male-female (41%), female-female (41%), and male-male (18%) types in these 17 pairs were very similar to those among the 1377 similarly defined pairs in which neither or only 1 member was seropositive, affording no support for extramarital heterosexual activity as an explanation for the clustering observed. Thus, the demography of HTLV-I was not accounted for completely by sexual and mother-to-offspring transmission. The predominance of clustering of unrelated HTLV-I-seropositive individuals in locations with high mosquito infestation raised the possibility of sporadic transmission of HTLV-I by hematophagous insects.
Medical Research Council Epidemiology and Medical Care Unit, Medical College of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
G J
GJ
Miller
L L
LL
Lewis
S M
SM
Colman
J A
JA
Cooper
G
G
Lloyd
N
N
Scollen
N
N
Jones
R S
RS
Tedder
M F
MF
Greaves
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000330:Aedes; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003710:Demography; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014900:West Indies / Q000453:epidemiology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral