Seroprevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus in blood bank donors at Fundación Valle del Lili, Cali, Colombia, 2008-2014.
BACKGROUND
Human lymphotropic virus (HTLV I/II) is a retrovirus that is prevalent across the Colombian Pacific coast, and is potentially transmissible by transfusion. Blood bank screening has been regulated since 2004, in order to reduce transmission of HTLV I/II through donation. Information on the seroprevalence of the virus in southwestern Colombia is limited.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the seroprevalence and the behavior of reactivity to HTLV I/II before and after the introduction of Western blot, and the comorbidity of HTLV and other infectious markers in donors from a blood bank in Cali, Colombia.


METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study of 77,117 blood bank donors from the Fundación Valle del Lili by analyzing records of donors who had been tested with the reactive test for anti-HTLV I-II antibodies (IgG) between January, 2008, and December, 2014.


RESULTS
The cumulative seroprevalence during the study period was 0.24% (186/77,119). Reactivity was more common in women (61%), and the median age was 37 years (IQR: 24-48). The seroprevalence in the years before the introduction of Western blot was 0.13%, 0.19%, 0.31%, 0.32% and 0.18% (2008-2012), and thereafter it was 0.08% and 0.07% (2012-2014). Concomitant reactivity with other infectious markers was 11%: syphilis (57%), followed by HIV (19%), hepatitis B (14%) and hepatitis C (9%). The highest seroprevalence (0.38%) was reported in 2012.


CONCLUSIONS
We found a high prevalence of reactivity to HTLV I-II compared to that reported in other studies. The results of this study are a starting point for the development of population studies.
Banco de Sangre Fundación y Servicio Transfusional (sic), Clínica Valle del Lili, Cali, Colombia. cmacia@fcvl.org.
Carmenza
C
Macía
Sandra
S
Vargas
Ana María
AM
Mora
Ashly Melissa
AM
Sarmiento
Robinson
R
Pacheco
Fernando
F
Rosso
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001771:Blood Banks; D001782:Blood Donors; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003105:Colombia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000914:Antibodies, Viral
HTLV-I antibodies; HTLV-II antibodies; blood donors; blotting, Western; prevalence; serology