title: Seroprevalence of human T lymphotropic virus antibodies among healthy blood donors at a tertiary centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transmission of human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) occurs from mother to child, by sexual contact and blood transfusion. Presently, in most centres in Nigeria, there is no routine pre-transfusion screening for HTLV. The study aims to determine the prevalence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 among healthy blood donors at a tertiary centre in Lagos.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out at the blood donor clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. About 5 mls of venous blood was collected from each subject into a sterile plain bottle after obtaining subject's consent. The serum separated and stored at -200C. Sera were assayed for HTLV by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for the determination of antibodies to HTLV 1 and HTLV -2. Western blot confirmatory testing was done on reactive samples. All donors were also screened for HIV, HBsAg and HCV by rapid kits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The seroprevalence of HTLV -1 by ELISA was 1.0% and 0.5% by Western Blot among blood donors. A total of 210 healthy blood donors were enrolled. Only 2 (1.0%) blood donors were repeatedly reactive with ELISA test. On confirmatory testing with Western Blot, 1 (0.5%) blood donor was positive for HTLV. All the healthy blood donors were negative for HIV, HbsAg and HCV. None of the 210 blood donors had been previously transfused; as such no association could be established between transfusion history and HTLV positivity among the blood donors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seroprevalence of HTLV in this environment is low among healthy blood donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion Lagos State University, Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Idris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Durojaiye
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, ikeja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Akinsegun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akinbami
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, ikeja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Adedoyin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dosunmu
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Immunology, Ben Carson, School of Medicine, Backcok University, Ilisan, Ogun State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ajibola
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Adewumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adediran
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, ikeja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Ebele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Uche
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, Ikeja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olajumoke
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oshinaike
authors.affiliation: Oak Hospitals, Ikorodu, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Majeed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odesanya
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Lagos State University, College of Medicine, Ikeja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Akinola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dada
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of PortHarcourt, River State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olaitan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Okunoye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D006262:Health; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies
keywords: HTLV; Nigeria; Seroprevalence; healthy blood donors