title: Seroprevalence of HTLV-1/2 among blood donors in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Infection with human T-lymphotropic virus 1 or 2 (HTLV-1/2) is a major health problem. There is a public health policy defining measures for state hematology and hemotherapy centers in Brazil, in order to avoid virus transmission through blood donors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HTLV -1/2 in blood donors in the State of Maranhão, Brazil, during routine blood unit screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  Screening tests of blood donors using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect seropositivity for HTLV-1/2 performed at the Hematology and Hemotherapy Center of the State of Maranhão (HEMOMAR) between July of 2003 and December of 2009 were retrospectively evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 365,564 blood donors, 561 (0.15%) were HTLV-1/2-positive, of whom 72 (12.8%) performed the confirmatory test (Western blot). In donors who had a confirmatory test, 53 (73.6%) were positive. The ages of the infected individuals ranged from 18 to 65 years; 305 (54%) were aged over 40 years. Among the infected individuals, 309 (55%) were male, 399 (71%) were mixed-race, and 259 (46%) were single. Co-infections were frequently found, especially with hepatitis B (in 68.6% of the cases).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results obtained will contribute to the planning and implementation of control measures by the epidemiological surveillance agency of Maranhão, and will also contribute to reducing morbidity. The high seropositivity in a small sample in donors who had confirmatory tests indicates the need for confirmatory tests for all donors who initially test as seropositive.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Graça Maria de Castro
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Viana
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria do Desterro Soares Brandão
authors.initials: Mdo D
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Artur Souza
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandro Carvalho
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina de Souza
authors.initials: Cde S
authors.lastname: Galvão
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA), São Luis, MA, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcos Antonio Custódio Neto
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: da Silva
keywords: Blood donors; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Human T-lymphotropic virus 2; Seroepidemiologic studies