Twenty-five years of HTLV type II follow-up with a possible case of tropical spastic paraparesis in the Kayapo, a Brazilian Indian tribe.
A longitudinal study, spanning 25 years and great demographic and cultural change, found a persistently high prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) in the Xikrin Kayapo Indians of Brazil. More than 10% of the children continue to develop immune reactions to the virus in infancy, a sharp increase in seroprevalence occurs between ages 15 and 30 years, and prevalence in older woman still approaches 100%. This suggests that the major modes of transmission (breast milk and sexual activity) have not changed. The demonstration of stable maintenance of HTLV-II in one ethnic group makes migration theories of its dispersal more plausible. However, the infection may not be a negligible burden on population survival: at least 1 of 62 persons followed until age 40 years died of possible tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP).
Black
F L
FL
Department of Public Health, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8034, USA.
Biggar
R J
RJ
Lal
R B
RB
Gabbai
A A
AA
Filho
J P
JP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000821:virology; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015493:Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic / Q000503:physiopathology*