title: Human T lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) infection among female prostitutes in Yucatan, Mexico.
abstract: The antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type I/II (HTLV-I/II) were determined in non-intravenous drug-using female prostitutes from Merida Yucatan, Mexico. Serum specimens from 282 female prostitutes collected during 1990 were tested initially by enzyme immunoassay and further confirmed by western blot assays. Of these, 5 (1.8%, 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 3.3) were shown to be HTLV-I/II positive (reactivity to p24gag and gp68/r21eenv). All five specimens were shown to be infected with HTLV-II by immunoassays using type-specific synthetic peptides and recombinant proteins. Long-term cell lines developed from two individuals demonstrated active viral replication and were of CD8 phenotype. Polymerase chain reaction analysis from four of these five prostitutes demonstrated HTLV-II-specific amplification of all four specimens, of which one was subtype a (HTLV-IIa) and three were subtype b (HTLV-IIb). These data show that HTLV-II is the predominant HTLV type among female prostitutes from the Yucatan.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hematology, Regional Research Centers DR. Hideyo Noguchi, University of Yucatan, Merida Yucatan, Mexico.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gongora-Biachi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Martinez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castros-Sansores
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pavia-Ruz
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Rudolph
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lal
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D011477:Sex Work / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*