Molecular characterization of human T cell leukemia virus type 1 subtypes in a group of infected individuals diagnosed in Portugal and Spain.
Over the past decade, Portugal and Spain received large numbers of immigrants from HTLV-1 endemic areas. Our aim was to investigate the diversity of subtypes circulating in these two countries and the introduction of new variants. We performed a molecular analysis of HTLV-1 strains in patients diagnosed since 1998. LTR and env proviral sequences from 26 individuals were analyzed to generate phylogenetic trees along with reference HTLV-1 subtypes from several geographic origins. Epidemiological and clinical data were recorded. Most subjects were immigrants (57.7%) from South America and Africa. All isolates belonged to the cosmopolitan A subtype. Most carried the transcontinental subgroup A, but five subjects carried subgroup D and one carried subgroup C, previously unreported in Europe. HTLV strains showed separate clusters linked to the patients' geographic origin. Although subjects with HTLV-1 infection tend not to be engaged in high-risk practices, silent dissemination of a broad diversity of HTLV-1 viruses may still occur.
AIDS Reference Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Department of National Institute of Health, Lisbon, Portugal.
Elizabeth
E
Pádua
Berta
B
Rodés
Teresa
T
Pérez-Piñar
Ana Filipa
AF
Silva
Victoria
V
Jiménez
Filipa
F
Ferreira
Carlos
C
Toro
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D015752:Genes, env / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D020079:Terminal Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral