title: Determination of human T lymphotropic virus type by polymerase chain reaction and correlation with risk factors in northern California blood donors.
abstract: To determine the relative prevalence of human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) types I and II, type-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done on seropositive northern California blood donors. From October 1988 through March 1990, 67 (0.055%) of 122,517 blood donors had confirmed HTLV antibody. Seropositive donors were more likely to be middle-aged, female, and nonwhite than the overall donor base. PCR of samples from 30 HTLV-seropositive donors yielded 19 (63%) with HTLV-II and 9 (30%) with HTLV-I; 2 (7%) were repeatedly negative by PCR. HTLV-I-infected subjects had ancestry (n = 3), sexual contact (n = 3), or paternal military service in (n = 1) Japan or the Caribbean. HTLV-II carriers reported past intravenous drug abuse (n = 3) or sex with a drug user (n = 11). Two carriers of each type reported previous blood transfusions, and 1 HTLV-II carrier was a dentist with no other risk factors for retroviral infection.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, UC San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Eble
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Guiltinan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Khayam-Bashi
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001782:Blood Donors; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011533:Proviruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral