title: Demographic and familial characteristics of HTLV-1 infection among an isolated, highly endemic population of African origin in French Guiana.
abstract: To determine the epidemiological characteristics of human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I) infection in the endemic village of Maripasoula, French Guiana, 1,614 persons (83.2% of the population) aged 2 to 91 years (mean age 21) were studied from November 1994 through April 1995. Plasma samples were screened by an HTLV-I ELISA and an IFA test (on MT2 cells), and positive samples were tested by an HTLV-I and -II type-specific Western blot. Overall seropositivity in the village was 6.7%, but HTLV-I infection was restricted to 3 of 6 ethnic groups, including the Noir-Marron (descendants of escaped African slaves, 8%), the Creoles (4.1%) and those of mixed Noir Marron/other ethnicity (3.6%). In the Noir-Marron population of 1,222 persons, including 606 men and 616 women and representing 76% of those tested, HTLV-I seroprevalence increased significantly with age in both sexes, reaching 40% in women older than 50 years. Univariate risk factors for HTLV-I seropositivity in women included older age, more pregnancies, more live births and a history of hospitalization. A cross-sectional analysis of sexual partners demonstrated an excess of discordant female HTLV-I+/male HTLV-I- couples, indicating preferential male-to-female sexual transmission. The demonstration of II HTLV-I-seropositive children aged less than 15 years, of whom 9 had a seropositive mother, suggested maternal-child HTLV-I transmission. Our results demonstrate a very high seroprevalence of HTLV-I in this South American population descended from African slaves, probably due to high rates of mother-to-child and sexual transmission within this rather isolated group.
authors.affiliation: Unité d'Epidémiologie des Virus Oncogènes, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Plancoulaine
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Buigues
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Beveren
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Pouliquen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joubert
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rémy
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tuppin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tortevoye
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Thé
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D005616:French Guiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies