HTLV-II transmission to a health care worker.
Health care workers, mainly in emergency and forensic services, are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and type II (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) are cosmopolitan human delta retroviruses causing endemic infection in Japan, the Caribbean basin, South America, and sub-Saharan Africa, and in clusters among intravenous drug users in Europe and the United States. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II among Brazilian blood donors ranges from 0.08% to 1.35%. HTLV-I transmission to a Japanese researcher has already been reported. We describe the transmission of HTLV-II infection to a Brazilian laboratory worker caused by a needlestick injury when she was recapping a syringe after collecting material for arterial blood gas analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an occupational transmission of HTLV-II to a health care worker.
Menna-Barreto
Marcio
M
Division of Neurology, Hospital São Lucas, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) and HTLV Reference Center, Prefeitura Municipal de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil. mbarreto@uol.com.br
D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D017056:Medical Laboratory Personnel; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000150:complications*