Absence of HTLV-1/2 infection and dermatological diseases in Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil.

Leny Nascimento Da Motta Passos,Bruna Tamegão-Lopes,Marcelo Távora Mira,Paulo Roberto De Lima Machado,Márcia Poinho Encarnação De Moraes,Sinésio Talhari,José Alexandre Rodrigues De Lemos

doi:10.1590/0037-8682-0196-2013

Abstract

The prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) infection is heterogeneous across different populations. We tested the hypothesis that HTLV-1/2 infection occurs more often in dermatological patients. A total of 1,091 patients from a tropical dermatology clinic were tested for HTLV-1/2. In parallel, 6865 first-time blood donors from the same geographic area were screened for HTLV-1/2; HTLV-1/2 positive blood donors underwent dermatological examinations. The prevalence of HTLV-1/2 in first-time blood donors was 0.14%. No co-occurrence of HTLV-1/2 infection and dermatological conditions was observed. Our results challenge the hypothesis that HTLV-1/2 infection occurs more often in dermatological patients.

Highlights

The prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) infection is heterogeneous across different populations
In the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, 0.7% of 1,229 patients at a dermatology clinic tested positive for Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1/2, which is 3.3 times higher than the 0.22% positive test rate observed in 80,902 blood donors recruited from the same geographical area (p = 0.006)[12]
All dermatological patients and blood donors that tested positive for HTLV-1/2 provided informed consent agreeing to participate on the study, which was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Hemoterapia do Amazonas (HEMOAM)

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) infection is heterogeneous across different populations. In the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, 0.7% of 1,229 patients at a dermatology clinic tested positive for HTLV-1/2, which is 3.3 times higher than the 0.22% positive test rate observed in 80,902 blood donors recruited from the same geographical area (p = 0.006)[12].

Results

Conclusion