title: A public HTLV-1 molecular epidemiology database for sequence management and data mining.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is estimated that 15 to 20 million people are infected with the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). At present, there are more than 2,000 unique HTLV-1 isolate sequences published. A central database to aggregate sequence information from a range of epidemiological aspects including HTLV-1 infections, pathogenesis, origins, and evolutionary dynamics would be useful to scientists and physicians worldwide. Described here, we have developed a database that collects and annotates sequence data and can be accessed through a user-friendly search interface. The HTLV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Database website is available at http://htlv1db.bahia.fiocruz.br/.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All data was obtained from publications available at GenBank or through contact with the authors. The database was developed using Apache Webserver 2.1.6 and SGBD MySQL. The webpage interfaces were developed in HTML and sever-side scripting written in PHP. The HTLV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Database is hosted on the Gonçalo Moniz/FIOCRUZ Research Center server. There are currently 2,457 registered sequences with 2,024 (82.37%) of those sequences representing unique isolates. Of these sequences, 803 (39.67%) contain information about clinical status (TSP/HAM, 17.19%; ATL, 7.41%; asymptomatic, 12.89%; other diseases, 2.17%; and no information, 60.32%). Further, 7.26% of sequences contain information on patient gender while 5.23% of sequences provide the age of the patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The HTLV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Database retrieves and stores annotated HTLV-1 proviral sequences from clinical, epidemiological, and geographical studies. The collected sequences and related information are now accessible on a publically available and user-friendly website. This open-access database will support clinical research and vaccine development related to viral genotype.
authors.affiliation: Gonçalo Moniz Research Center/Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thessika Hialla Almeida
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: Leandro Inacio
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Souza-Brito
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Libin
authors.forename: Koen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deforche
authors.forename: Dustin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Antonio Eduardo
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: de Albuquerque-Junior
authors.forename: Anne-Mieke
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vandamme
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Galvao-Castro
authors.forename: Luiz Carlos Junior
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Alcantara
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D001483:Base Sequence; D057225:Data Mining; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D005843:Geography; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D014584:User-Computer Interface