title: Geographic independence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II foci in the Andes highland, the Atlantic coast, and the Orinoco of Colombia.
abstract: To clarify the ethnic specificity of human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II) carriers among Colombian native Indians, we investigated the geographic distribution of HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence among the isolated ethnic groups of Mongoloid origin in the Andes highlands and the Atlantic coast of Colombia. HTLV-I carriers were found in 1.6% (1/62 samples) of Inga, 8.5% (5/59) of Kamsa, and 0% (0/55) of Cumbal Indians who live in the Andes highlands at 3000 m above sea level. On the other hand, HTLV-II carriers were found in 4.1% (5/123) of Wayuu Indians, who live in the Guajira region of the Atlantic coast of Colombia at a distance of 1000 km from the Andes highlands. This ethnic specificity of HTLV-II was similarly observed among Guahibo Indians in the Orinoco. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II was mutually exclusive among Inga, Kamsa, and Wayuu Indians. These results suggest that HTLV-I and HTLV-II may have evolved among Mongoloid populations and been independently transmitted among two different lineages of Colombian native Indians, Andes highlanders and Atlantic coast lowlanders.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Valle, Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zaninovic
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanzon
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Velandia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fujiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yashiki
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katahira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies