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Tropical Medicine & International... Mar 2016Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1 causes T-cell leukaemia and myelopathy. Together with HTLV-2, it is endemic in some African nations. Seroprevalence data from Malawi... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
OBJECTIVES
Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1 causes T-cell leukaemia and myelopathy. Together with HTLV-2, it is endemic in some African nations. Seroprevalence data from Malawi are scarce, with no reports on associated disease incidence. HTLV seroprevalence and type were tested in 418 healthy mothers from Malawi. In addition, we tested the sera of 534 children to investigate mother-to-child transmission. To provide context, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of HTLV seroprevalence in African women and children.
METHODS
Stored samples from a previous childhood cancer and BBV study were analysed. ELISA was used for HTLV screening followed by immunoblot for confirmation and typing. Standard methods were used for the systematic review.
RESULTS
HTLV seroprevalence was 2.6% (11/418) in mothers and 2.2% (12/534) in children. Three mothers carried HTLV-1 alone, seven had HTLV-2 and one was dually infected. Three children carried HTLV-1 alone, seven had HTLV-2 and two were dually infected. Only two corresponding mothers of the 12 HTLV-positive children were HTLV positive. The systematic review included 66 studies of women and 13 of children conducted in 25 African countries. Seroprevalence of HTLV-1 varied from 0 to 17% and of HTLV-2 from 0 to 4%.
CONCLUSIONS
In contrast to findings from other studies in Africa, the seroprevalence of HTLV-2 was higher than that of HTLV-1 in Malawi and one of the highest for the African region. The lack of mother-child concordance suggests alternative sources of infection among children. Our data and analyses contribute to HTLV prevalence mapping in Africa.
Topics: Adolescent; Africa; Child; Child, Preschool; Coinfection; Female; HTLV-I Infections; HTLV-II Infections; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Human T-lymphotropic virus 2; Humans; Infant; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Malawi; Male; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Seroepidemiologic Studies
PubMed: 26700941
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12659 -
International Journal of Infectious... Aug 2014Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is considered to be the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is considered to be the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Blood transfusion is a common transmission pathway for HTLV-1. However, no surveys to determine the overall prevalence of HTLV-1 infection and HTLV-1 genotypes among blood donors on the Chinese mainland have yet been conducted.
METHODS
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the peer-reviewed literature on this topic was carried out. Data manipulation and statistical analyses were performed using the Comprehensive Meta Analysis Version 2.0 program.
RESULTS
Forty-four eligible articles involving 458525 blood donors were selected. Analysis revealed the pooled prevalences of HTLV-1 infection among blood donors in Fujian and Guangdong provinces to be 9.9/10000 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4/10000-22.2/10000) and 2.9/10000 (95% CI 1.7/10000-4.8/10000), respectively; there were only two cases of HTLV-1 infection among 204763 donors in other areas of the Chinese mainland. In addition, 40 of 42 (95.2%) HTLV-1 isolates belonged to the Transcontinental subgroup A of the HTLV-1 subtype A (Cosmopolitan subtype).
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of HTLV-1 infection among blood donors is low and restricted mainly to the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Most isolates belong to the Transcontinental subgroup within HTLV-1 subtype A.
Topics: Blood Donors; China; Genotype; HTLV-I Infections; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Humans; Prevalence
PubMed: 24865322
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2014.02.021