title: Failure to detect human T-lymphotropic virus antibody in wild-caught New World primates.
abstract: We conducted a study to look for a simian counterpart of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) in wild-caught monkeys in the Republic of Panama. Serum specimens were obtained from 102 monkeys (Ateles fusciceps, n = 75; Alouatta villosa, n = 18; and Cebus capucinus, n = 9) captured in Panama's Darien rain forest in 1979-1980. Specimens were screened for HTLV antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and reactive specimens were further tested by Western blot. None of the 102 specimens were seropositive for HTLV. Our findings provide no evidence for an HTLV-like virus in New World primates from Panama, but the sample size was small, and further studies are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Retrovirus Diseases Branch, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: M U
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gracia
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Reeves
mesh_terms: D000508:Alouatta / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002427:Cebidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D002428:Cebus / Q000382:microbiology; D006800:Deltaretrovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D008992:Monkey Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D010176:Panama / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies