A population-based epidemiological study of human T-cell leukemia virus type I infection in Kin-Hu, Kinmen.
Kinmen is a group of small islands located between Taiwan and Fu-Kien Province of mainland China. The general population in Kinmen are descendants of immigrants from mainland China who began arriving around 317 A.D. Since it has been reported that 0.48% of adults in Taiwan have HTLV-I infection, the decision was made to conduct a community-based epidemiological study in Kinmen to understand the origin and dissemination of HTLV-I in north-east Asia. Over 68% of residents of Kin-Hu township in Kinmen over 30 years of age participated in this study. Eight of 1,425 males and 14 of 1,595 females had HTLV-I infection. Antibody reactivities were further tested by Western blot assays with HTLV-I or HTLV-II type-specific recombinant envelope glycoproteins, and it was determined that all of those infected had HTLV-I and none had HTLV-II. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. The final model indicated that the significant factors associated with HTLV-I infection in Kinmen were age and coastal residency. Age was positively correlated with HTLV-I infection. The eastern coastal area had a rate of HTLV-I infection 3.1 times higher than other areas in Kin-Hu. Further genetic analysis in Kinmen is needed to elucidate a relationship with other HTLV-I isolates in the world.
Chen
Y M
YM
Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Lin
H C
HC
Chou
P
P
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012698:Serologic Tests; D012737:Sex Factors; D013624:Taiwan
D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies