Article
Phylogenetic and molecular analysis of HTLV-1 isolates from a medium sized town in northern of Brazil: tracing a common origin of the virus from the most endemic city in the country
Registro en:
Phylogenetic and molecular analysis of HTLV-1 isolates from a medium sized town in northern of Brazil: tracing a common origin of the virus from the most endemic city in the country. Journal of Medical Virology, v. 80, n. 11, p. 2040-2045, 2008.
1096-9071
Autor
Magalhães, Themístocles Soares de
Miranda, Aline Cristina Andrade Mota
Alcantara, Luiz Carlos Júnior
Gallazzi, Viviana Nilla Olavarria
Castro Filho, Bernardo Galvão
Grassi, Maria Fernanda Rios
Resumen
Salvador-Bahia has the highest prevalence of
HTLV-1 infection in Brazil; about 2% of the
population is infected. In this city, the prevalence
of HTLV in pregnant women is 1%. There is no
data of the HTLV-1 prevalence in others cities of
the Bahia’s Recoˆ ncavo, where the population has
similar social and demography characteristics to
those from Salvador. Our aim was to evaluate the
seroprevalence of HTLV in pregnant women in
Cruz das Almas-Bahia, a medium-sized city from
the Bahia’s Recoˆ ncavo. All individuals were
tested for HTLV (ELISA) and the positive samples
were confirmed by Western Blot. Phylogenetic
analyses of the total LTR region were performed
in all positive samples. We tested 408 samples
(45.4% of the estimate pregnant women population)
between June 1st and October 31, 2005. The
prevalence of HTLV-1 infection was 0.98%. In
addition, all isolated virus were grouped in the
subtype HTLV-1a, in the Latin American group.
Our results suggest that the introduction of HTLV-
1 occurred after the slave trade into Salvador. In
addition, HTLV-1-infection should be screened
during the pregnancy in women originating from HTLV-1 endemic areas.