TY - JOUR
T1 - The seroepidemiology of human T-lymphotropic viruses
T2 - Types I and II in Europe: A prospective study of pregnant women
AU - Taylor, Graham P.
AU - Bodéus, Monique
AU - Courtois, Françoise
AU - Pauli, Georg
AU - Del Mistro, Annarosa
AU - Machuca, Ana
AU - Padua, Elizabeth
AU - Andersson, Soren
AU - Goubau, Patrick
AU - Chieco-Bianchi, Luigi
AU - Soriano, Vincent
AU - Coste, Joliette
AU - Ades, Anthony E.
AU - Weber, Jonathan N.
PY - 2005/1/1
Y1 - 2005/1/1
N2 - Background: Up to 20 million persons are infected with the human retroviruses human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I and HTLV-II globally. Most data on the seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Europe are from studies of low-risk blood donors or high-risk injection drug users (IDUs). Little is known about the general population. Methods: A prospective anonymous study of HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence among 234,078 pregnant women in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom was conducted. Maternal antibody status was determined by standard methods using sera obtained for routine antenatal infection screens or eluted from infant heel prick dried blood spots obtained for routine neonatal metabolic screens. Results: Anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies were detected and confirmed in 96 pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5-5.2). Of these, 73 were anti-HTLV-I, 17 were anti-HTLV-II, and 6 were specifically anti-HTLV but untyped. The seroprevalence ranged from 0.7 per 10,000 in Germany to 11.5 per 10,000 in France. Conclusions: Pregnant women better reflect the general population than blood donors or IDUs. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Western Europe is 6-fold higher among pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000) than among blood donors (0.07 per 10,000). These data provide a robust baseline against which changes in HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence in Europe can be measured.
AB - Background: Up to 20 million persons are infected with the human retroviruses human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-I and HTLV-II globally. Most data on the seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Europe are from studies of low-risk blood donors or high-risk injection drug users (IDUs). Little is known about the general population. Methods: A prospective anonymous study of HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence among 234,078 pregnant women in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom was conducted. Maternal antibody status was determined by standard methods using sera obtained for routine antenatal infection screens or eluted from infant heel prick dried blood spots obtained for routine neonatal metabolic screens. Results: Anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies were detected and confirmed in 96 pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.5-5.2). Of these, 73 were anti-HTLV-I, 17 were anti-HTLV-II, and 6 were specifically anti-HTLV but untyped. The seroprevalence ranged from 0.7 per 10,000 in Germany to 11.5 per 10,000 in France. Conclusions: Pregnant women better reflect the general population than blood donors or IDUs. The seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Western Europe is 6-fold higher among pregnant women (4.4 per 10,000) than among blood donors (0.07 per 10,000). These data provide a robust baseline against which changes in HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence in Europe can be measured.
KW - Epidemiology
KW - HTLV-I
KW - HTLV-II
KW - Pregnant women
KW - Western Europe
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U2 - 10.1097/00126334-200501010-00018
DO - 10.1097/00126334-200501010-00018
M3 - Article
C2 - 15608533
AN - SCOPUS:19944426970
VL - 38
SP - 104
EP - 109
JO - Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
JF - Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
SN - 1525-4135
IS - 1
ER -