HTLV-I/II PREVALENCE AMONG CHILDREN IN A DERMATOLOGICAL UNIT FOR IMPOVERISHED CHILDREN IN MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL.

Abstract

P089 Although initially connected to clinical manifestations in adults, HTLV-I/II has been recently associated with diseases in younger populations of endemic regions. Dermatological lesions are frequently detected in these groups. Most HTLV-I/II prevalence studies in Brazil were conducted in blood donors. To ascertain the prevalence in youngsters, we have examined and tested the sera of 110 children (mean age 5.7 years old, range 4 months-16 years) with dermatological diseases in a government outpatient unit for low socioeconomic population. The most prevalent diagnosis were of atopic dermatitis (30/110, 27,3%), seborrheic dermatitis (10/110, 9.1%), vitiligo (7/110, 6.4%), contact type dermatitis (6/110, 5.5%) and fungi infection (6/110, 5.5%). There was one case of infective dermatitis, that was positive for HTLV-I/II (ELISA, Organon Teknika and WB, Genelabs Diagnostics). Both parents were tested and were also positive. All remaining children had non-reactive sera for HTLV-I/II. Whereas the seroprevalence of HTLV-I/II in the population studied was relatively low (0.96%), it was about 6 times higher than in blood donors. The number of children studied so far is small, but recent Japanese studies show that PCR may detect infected children, even if they are seronegative. Our group is being now expanded; we are seeking to include more cases of infective dermatitis and perform PCR in all from this group. It is our belief that, as we improve the diagnosis of HTLV-I/II in this age group, new diseases associations may be detected and help to understand the spectrum of morbidity of these viruses.