title: Prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infections in Spain: A cross-sectional hospital-based survey.
abstract: The presence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) types 1 and 2 was examined in 5742 sera belonging to consecutive adult outpatients attended during June 2008 at 13 different hospitals across Spain. Overall, 58.8% were female. Foreigners represented 8% of the study population. Seven individuals were seropositive for HTLV-2 (overall prevalence 0.12%). No cases of HTLV-1 infection were found. All HTLV-2(+) subjects were Spanish natives, of whom six were coinfected with HIV-1 and five with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Moreover, all but one of the HTLV-2(+) subjects had been intravenous drug users. In summary, this cross-sectional survey suggests that the rate of HTLV infection in Spain is low, and is mostly represented by HTLV-2. Infected individuals are generally Spanish natives with a prior history of intravenous drug use and are coinfected with HIV-1 and/or HCV.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Treviño
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Mendoza
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benito
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ortíz de Lejarazu
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trigo
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Eirós
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Iglesias
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.forename: Araceli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: Cesar
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Goizane
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marcaida
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D015497:HIV-1; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016174:Hepacivirus; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2; D006801:Humans; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral