title: HTLV infection among Italian intravenous drug users and North African subjects detected by the polymerase chain reaction and serological methods.
abstract: Six hundred intravenous drug users (IVDUs) and two hundred North Africans were screened for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) antibodies using several serological methods. Eighteen of the eighty-two HTLV-seropositive individuals were also tested by the polymerase chain reaction-DNA enzyme immunoassay (PCR-DEIA), a non-isotopic method of immunoenzymatic detection of the amplified DNA. Of these eighteen subjects, eight IVDUs were found to be HTLV-II-positive by the PCR-DEIA, whereas all of the eighteen subjects were negative for HTLV-I. Western blot (WB) confirmed six of the eight HTLV-positive subjects, while the results of the remaining two were indeterminate. The results confirmed the PCR-DEIA as a rapid and an efficient method of discriminating between HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection, whereas serological tests, including the WB, have limitations in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Moreover, this study showed a higher frequency of HTLV seroreactivity in the Italian IVDU population than in previous studies and confirmed that HTLV-II is more frequent than HTLV-I in this population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), S. Maria Nascente, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magistrelli
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendozzi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Achilli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferrante
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies