Clinical and Public Health Implications of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Infection

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

SUMMARY

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is estimated to affect 5 to 10 million people globally and can cause severe and potentially fatal disease, including adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The burden of HTLV-1 infection appears to be geographically concentrated, with high prevalence in discrete regions and populations. While most high-income countries have introduced HTLV-1 screening of blood donations, few other public health measures have been implemented to prevent infection or its consequences. Recent advocacy from concerned researchers, clinicians, and community members has emphasized the potential for improved prevention and management of HTLV-1 infection. Despite all that has been learned in the 4 decades following the discovery of HTLV-1, gaps in knowledge across clinical and public health aspects persist, impeding optimal control and prevention, as well as the development of policies and guidelines. Awareness of HTLV-1 among health care providers, communities, and affected individuals remains limited, even in countries of endemicity. This review provides a comprehensive overview on HTLV-1 epidemiology and on clinical and public health and highlights key areas for further research and collaboration to advance the health of people with and at risk of HTLV-1 infection.

Related collections

Most cited references 463

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Is Open Access

Global burden of cancer attributable to infections in 2018: a worldwide incidence analysis

Catherine de Martel, Damien Georges, Freddie Bray … (2019)

Infectious pathogens are strong and modifiable causes of cancer. The aim of this study was to improve estimates of the global and regional burden of infection-attributable cancers to inform research priorities and facilitate prevention efforts.

0 comments Cited 585 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Epidemiological Aspects and World Distribution of HTLV-1 Infection

Antoine Gessain, Olivier Cassar, Jinyun Tang (2013)

The human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), identified as the first human oncogenic retrovirus 30 years ago, is not an ubiquitous virus. HTLV-1 is present throughout the world, with clusters of high endemicity located often nearby areas where the virus is nearly absent. The main HTLV-1 highly endemic regions are the Southwestern part of Japan, sub-Saharan Africa and South America, the Caribbean area, and foci in Middle East and Australo-Melanesia. The origin of this puzzling geographical or rather ethnic repartition is probably linked to a founder effect in some groups with the persistence of a high viral transmission rate. Despite different socio-economic and cultural environments, the HTLV-1 prevalence increases gradually with age, especially among women in all highly endemic areas. The three modes of HTLV-1 transmission are mother to child, sexual transmission, and transmission with contaminated blood products. Twenty years ago, de Thé and Bomford estimated the total number of HTLV-1 carriers to be 10–20 millions people. At that time, large regions had not been investigated, few population-based studies were available and the assays used for HTLV-1 serology were not enough specific. Despite the fact that there is still a lot of data lacking in large areas of the world and that most of the HTLV-1 studies concern only blood donors, pregnant women, or different selected patients or high-risk groups, we shall try based on the most recent data, to revisit the world distribution and the estimates of the number of HTLV-1 infected persons. Our best estimates range from 5–10 millions HTLV-1 infected individuals. However, these results were based on only approximately 1.5 billion of individuals originating from known HTLV-1 endemic areas with reliable available epidemiological data. Correct estimates in other highly populated regions, such as China, India, the Maghreb, and East Africa, is currently not possible, thus, the current number of HTLV-1 carriers is very probably much higher.

0 comments Cited 299 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Adult T-cell leukemia: antigen in an ATL cell line and detection of antibodies to the antigen in human sera.

Y Hinuma, K. Nagata, M Hanaoka … (1981)

Indirect immunofluorescence of certain human sera demonstrated an antigen(s) in the cytoplasm of 1--5% of the cells of a T-cell line, MT-1, from a patient with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), which is endemic in southwestern Japan. The antigen was not detected in other human lymphoid cell lines, including six T-cell lines, seven B-cell lines, and four non-T non-B cell lines. The antigen did not show cross antigenicity with that of herpesviruses, including Epstein--Barr virus, herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, varicella-zoster virus, herpesvirus saimiri, and Marek disease virus. The proportion of antigen-bearing cells was increased by a factor of approximately 5 on culture in the presence of 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine. Antibodies against the antigen in MT-1 cells were found in all 44 patients with ATL examined and in 32 of 40 patients with malignant T-cell lymphomas (most of them had diseases similar to ATL except that leukemic cells were not found in the peripheral blood). The antibodies were also detected in 26% of the healthy adults examined from ATL-endemic areas but in only a few of those examined from ATL-non-endemic areas. On electron microscopy, extracellular type C virus particles were detected in pelleted MT-1 cells cultured in the presence of 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine.