title: The seroepidemiology of human T-lymphotropic viruses: types I and II in Europe: a prospective study of pregnant women.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Up to 20 million persons are infected with the human retroviruses human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I and HTLV-II globally. Most data on the seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Europe are from studies of low-risk blood donors or high-risk injection drug users (IDUs). Little is known about the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective anonymous study of HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence among 234,078 pregnant women in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom was conducted. Maternal antibody status was determined by standard methods using sera obtained for routine antenatal infection screens or eluted from infant heel prick dried blood spots obtained for routine neonatal metabolic screens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies were detected and confirmed in 96 pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5-5.2). Of these, 73 were anti-HTLV-I, 17 were anti-HTLV-II, and 6 were specifically anti-HTLV but untyped. The seroprevalence ranged from 0.7 per 10,000 in Germany to 11.5 per 10,000 in France.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant women better reflect the general population than blood donors or IDUs. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Western Europe is 6-fold higher among pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000) than among blood donors (0.07 per 10,000). These data provide a robust baseline against which changes in HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence in Europe can be measured.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Wright Fleming Institute, Imperial College, Norfolk Place, London, United Kingdom. g.p.taylor@imperial.ac.uk
authors.forename: Graham P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bodéus
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Courtois
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pauli
authors.forename: Annarosa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Mistro
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Machuca
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Padua
authors.forename: Soren
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goubau
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chieco-Bianchi
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: Joliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coste
authors.forename: Anthony E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Ades
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000276:immunology; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies