Abstract
Background: In Europe, human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type 2 mainly occurs among intravenous drug users (IDUs) with prevalence up to 15% and HTLV-1 among general population with prevalence <. 1%. However, there is no data regarding the prevalence of HTLV-1 or HTLV-2 in Eastern European IDUs population where HIV prevalence is relatively high. We aimed to determine the prevalence and genotypes of HTLV-1/HTLV-2 among IDUs and healthy volunteers in Estonia. Methods: The study included 345 IDUs and 138 healthy volunteers. The presence of HTLV-1/HTLV-2 was determined by nested PCR; positive and negative controls were used in every PCR run. Results: The analysed IDUs resembled the IDUs of HIV epidemic in Estonia: mainly male (79%) with median age of 30 years (interquartile range [IQR] 25-34), and prolonged duration of intravenous drug usage (11 years; IQR 7-14). The prevalence exposure to blood-borne viral infections was high - 50% were HIV positive, 88% hepatitis C positive, 67% hepatitis B positive. Of IDUs, 64% reported receptive needle sharing in the past and 18% at least once a month during last six months. None of the IDUs carried HTLV-1 but there was a case of HTLV-2 (prevalence 0.3%; 95% CI 0.1-1.6). All healthy volunteers were HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 PCR negative. Conclusion: This is the first study investigating the prevalence of HTLV-1/HTLV-2 among high risk population and healthy volunteers in Eastern European region. Our results suggest that despite other widely spread blood-borne infections (e.g. HIV, HBV, HCV) HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 are rare among IDUs in Estonia.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 83-85 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Infection, Genetics and Evolution |
Volume | 43 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2016 |
Keywords
- Blood-borne infection
- Co-infection
- HIV
- HTLV-1/2
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Microbiology (medical)
- Infectious Diseases