title: An epidemiological study of HBV, HCV and HTLV-I in Sherpas of Nepal.
abstract: An epidemiological study of hepatitis viruses type B (HBV) and type C (HCV) and human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) was carried out among 103 residents (male:female=61:42) regarded as Sherpas, at Lukla (Solukhumbu district), Nepal in 2004. Blood was drawn from apparently healthy volunteers at ages of 28.8+12.3 (range 15-66) years. HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb, and HCV Ab were measured by microparticle enzyme-immunoassay, and HTLV-I Ab was measured by particle agglutination. Prevalence of HBsAg(+), HBsAb(+), HBcAb(+), and HBsAb(+) or HBcAb(+) were 1.9% 22.3%, 24.3%, and 28.2%, respectively. For HCV Ab, only a borderline reaction was observed in one sample, and for HTLV-I Ab all samples were negative. Nucleotide sequencing of the PreS1, PreS2, and S genes revealed that HBV among Sherpas to be of the A' (or Aa) genotype, which is prevalent among Nepalese but rare in native Tibetans, suggesting transmission within Nepal rather than association with ancestors' migration from Tibet as the origin. This is the first report of Himalayan Sherpas' state of infection with HBV, HCV, and HTLV-I.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo 060-8648, Japan. chibahit@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takezaki
authors.forename: Dhanapati
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neupani
authors.forename: Jinbo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yuuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Tadashiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Kiyonori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuriki
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakai
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Samejima
authors.forename: Shunro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tajima
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000208:ethnology*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000208:ethnology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies