Ethnic cluster of HTLV-I infection in Israel among the Mashhadi Jewish population.
A high prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection among Israeli Jews was previously reported. In the present study, screening for HTLV-I of Israeli Jews was expanded to 10 ethnic groups. HTLV-I antibodies were tested by the particle agglutination assay, ELISA, and by Western blot as a confirmatory method. The HTLV-I proviral genome was tested by nested PCR with tax primers (SK43/SK44 and Tr101/Tr102). The PCR tests were carried out in all seropositive subjects and the seronegative family members of the seropositives subjects in the Iranian population. Sixty-eight of the 1,679 subjects (4.1%) were found to be seropositive. The Jews originating from Mashhad had the highest infection rate of 60/306 (20%). Of the 479 Iranian non-Mashhadi Jews, 6 (1.3%) were seropositive. Of the 894 non-Iranian Israelis, only 2 (0.2%) were seropositive. HTLV-I proviral DNA was found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 66 out of 68 seropositive subjects and 6 out of 75 seronegative subjects. Sixty out of 123 (49%) Mashhadi Jews and 8 out of 14 (57%) non-Mashhadi Iranian Jews were PCR-positive. Three out of three seropositive non-Iranian Israelis were PCR positive. One non-Iranian Israeli (who originated from Ukraine) without family connections to the Iranian Jews was also PCR-positive. One hundred eighteen saliva samples (84 from subjects of Mashhadi origin, 31 from Iranian origin, and 4 of other origins) were also screened. Antibodies for HTLV-I were found in 23 out of 46 saliva samples from the individuals with particle agglutination (PA) and/or PCR-positive findings in blood. Twenty out of 23 PA-positive saliva samples also contained the proviral DNA. It is concluded that HTLV-I infection in Israel is mainly limited to Jews originating from Iran (most of them from Mashhad) and their family members.
Miller
M
M
Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Achiron
A
A
Shaklai
M
M
Stark
P
P
Maayan
S
S
Hannig
H
H
Hunsmann
G
G
Bodemer
W
W
Shohat
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002353:Carrier State / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000208:ethnology*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007585:Jews; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies