Prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection in hospitalized patients with tuberculosis.
OBJECTIVE
Reports have suggested that human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) may influence immunological response and therefore the clinical course of tuberculosis (TB) in co-infected individuals. We wished to determine the prevalence of HTLV-1 infection among hospitalized patients in Salvador, Brazil, a region endemic for both HTLV-1 infection and latent TB infection.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted at a pulmonary disease hospital between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007. Study participants were interviewed and tested for HTLV-1 infection and current or past episode of TB.


RESULTS
Of 607 participants recruited into the study, 360 (59.3%) had a current or past history of TB and 50 (8.2%) had HTLV-1 infection; 39 (6.4%) had both. After controlling for confounding variables, we found that the odds of patients with a positive HTLV-1 test having TB were 2.6 times the odds in those who tested negative for HTLV-1 infection (95%CI 1.2-5.4).


CONCLUSIONS
In a region endemic for both TB and HTLV-1 infection, HTLV-1 infection increases the risk of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Such a risk may influence TB transmission and the epidemiology of the disease in this community.
de Lourdes Bastos
M
M
Hospital Especializado Octávio Mangabeira, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Osterbauer
B
B
Mesquita
D L
DL
Carrera
C A
CA
Albuquerque
M J
MJ
Silva
L
L
Pereira
D N
DN
Riley
L
L
Carvalho
E M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006760:Hospitalization; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000150:complications*