Trends in the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections in Spain

Ana Treviño,Alvaro Torres,Rafael Benito,Matilde Trigo,Lourdes Roc,Goitzane Marcaida,Patricia Parra,Vincent Soriano,Carmen De Mendoza,Antonio Aguilera,Estrella Caballero,Araceli Hernández ,Carmen Rodrı́guez ,José María Eiros ,Manuel Rodrı́guez ,César Pereiro Gómez ,Raúl Ortíz De Lejarazu ,Juan González García ,José Manuel Ramos ,E Calderón

doi:10.1186/1743-422x-9-71

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough most HTLV infections in Spain have been found in native intravenous drug users carrying HTLV-2, the large immigration flows from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years may have changed the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections, and hypothetically open the opportunity for introducing HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 in Spain. To assess the current seroprevalence of HTLV infection in Spain a national multicenter, cross-sectional, study was conducted in June 2009.ResultsA total of 6,460 consecutive outpatients attending 16 hospitals were examined. Overall, 12% were immigrants, and their main origin was Latin America (4.9%), Africa (3.6%) and other European countries (2.8%). Nine individuals were seroreactive for HTLV antibodies (overall prevalence, 0.14%). Evidence of HTLV-1 infection was confirmed by Western blot in 4 subjects (prevalence 0.06%) while HTLV-2 infection was found in 5 (prevalence 0.08%). Infection with HTLV types 1, 2, 3 and 4 was discarded by Western blot and specific PCR assays in another two specimens initially reactive in the enzyme immunoassay. All but one HTLV-1 cases were Latin-Americans while all persons with HTLV-2 infection were native Spaniards.ConclusionsThe overall prevalence of HTLV infections in Spain remains low, with no evidence of HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 infections so far.

Highlights

Most human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) infections in Spain have been found in native intravenous drug users carrying HTLV-2, the large immigration flows from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years may have changed the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections, and hypothetically open the opportunity for introducing HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 in Spain
HTLV-1, the first human retrovirus was identified in 1980; it is the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma (ATLL) [1] and tropical spastic paraparesis/ HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) [2]
This study supports that the prevalence of HTLV infection in Spain remains stable and low

Summary

Introduction

Most HTLV infections in Spain have been found in native intravenous drug users carrying HTLV-2, the large immigration flows from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years may have changed the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections, and hypothetically open the opportunity for introducing HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 in Spain. HTLV-1, the first human retrovirus was identified in 1980; it is the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/ lymphoma (ATLL) [1] and tropical spastic paraparesis/ HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) [2]. These illnesses only affect to less than 10% of infected individuals lifetime. HTLV-1 has spread worldwide with estimates of 10-20 million infected people It is endemic in some parts of Japan, Central and South America and Sub-Saharan Africa [10]. Until December 2009, a total of 144 cases of HTLV-1 infection and 717 of HTLV-2 infection had been recorded at the national Spanish HTLV registry [13]

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