title: Seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection among immigrants in northern Italy.
abstract: To assess the prevalence of human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) and 2 (HTLV-II) infection and the associated risk factors among immigrants living in Northern Italy, we surveyed 3017 open-population subjects from three geographical areas and 371 prisoners. In the open population, the overall prevalence was 0.3% for HTLV-I and 0.1% for HTLV-II, while among prisoners, HTLV-I and HTLV-II infection were detected in 1.4 and 0.8% of subjects, respectively. HTLV-I prevalence was higher in subjects with multiple sexual partners or sexually transmitted diseases. This association was significant in the open-population group and close to significance in prisoners. Multivariate analysis showed that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositivity remained significantly associated with HTLV-I infection in both targeted populations (OR: 11.2 in the open population; OR: 9.9 among prisoners), whereas sexual exposure was associated with HTLV-I seropositivity only for prisoners (OR: 14.3). No independent variable was related to HTLV-II infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Medical Sciences, University of Trieste and IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ansaldi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comar
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Agaro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Grainfenberghi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caimi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gargiulo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bruzzone
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gasparini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Icardi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Perandin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Campello
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manca
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral