title: Prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 and 2 among patients with malignant hematological diseases in south Chile.
abstract: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) are oncogenic retroviruses linked etiologically to human diseases. In Chile, these viruses have been studied in ethnic populations, or patients diagnosed clinically with HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, but have not been studied in patients with malignant hematological diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and viral prevalence of HTLV-1/2 among patients with malignant hematological diseases. Eighty-eight patients with malignant hematological diseases were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgG anti-HTLV-1/2 and nested-PCR for the tax gene. The seroprevalence by ELISA was 3.4% and the viral prevalence by nested-PCR tax was 18.2%. HTLV-1 was found in 17% and HTLV-2 in 1% of the patients tested. HTLV-1/2 was found in 17.4% of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, 28.6% of patients with Hodgkin's lymphomas, 80% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 11.4% of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 22.2% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. A high prevalence of HTLV-1/2 was found in patients with malignant hematological diseases. A high proportion of patients were seronegative to HTLV-1/2 infection, similar to other HTLV-1/2 associated disorders. Because 50% of patients positive for HTLV-1/2 were below 30 years old, it is suggested that vertical transmission could have played an important role in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Microbiology, University Austral of Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barrientos
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sotomayor
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pilleux
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.forename: Maritza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navarrete
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Otth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G