Epidemiology of Human T Cell Leukemia Virus Type I Infection in East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 155; no. 6; pp. 1100 - 1107
• Main Authors: Kazura, James W., Saxinger, W. Carl, Wenger, Jay, Forsyth, Karen, Lederman, Michael M., Gillespie, John A., Carpenter, Charles C. J., Alpers, Michael A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01.06.1987; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Antibodies; Antibodies, Viral - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Deltaretrovirus - immunology; Deltaretrovirus Antibodies; Deltaretrovirus Infections - epidemiology; Deltaretrovirus Infections - genetics; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; Female; Filariasis - epidemiology; Hematologic and hematopoietic diseases; HTLV I infections; Human T lymphotropic virus 1; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infant; Infections; Infectious diseases; Leukemias. Malignant lymphomas. Malignant reticulosis. Myelofibrosis; Malaria - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Original Articles; Papua New Guinea; Parasites; Prospective Studies; Space-Time Clustering; T cell leukemia; Tropical medicine; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Viruses; Papua New Guinea; Virus; Human; Adult T cell leukemia; Papua New Guinea; Antibody; Leukemia; Melanesia; Retroviridae; Hemopathy; HTLV-I virus; Epidemiology; Oceania
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1093/infdis/155.6.1100

A serological survey of 317 healthy residents of rural Papua New Guinea (PNG) showed a 26% prevalence of antibodies to human T cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). Antibody to HTLV-I was detected in 16% of children ⩽1O years old (including an 18-month-old child) and increased to ⩾24% in subjects >20 years old. Prospective examination for antibody in 104 residents of one village revealed a seroconversion rate of 13% over a oneyear period. The mean titer of antibody in these subjects (1:183) was lower (P < .0005) than that in persons who were persistently seropositive (1:718). Analysis for clustering of infected subjects suggested that personal contact within the home played a role in the horizontal spread of HTLV-I. These data indicate that HTLV-I infection has a higher prevalence in PNG than in other endemic parts of the world, exposure occurs at an early age, and infection and/or seroconversion is common in adults as well as in children.