Male-to-female transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I and II: association with viral load. The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study Group.

Pubmed ID: 8680892

Journal: Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes and human retrovirology : official publication of the International Retrovirology Association

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

MeSH Terms: Humans, Male, Adult, Female, Risk Factors, Base Sequence, Logistic Models, Middle Aged, Polymerase Chain Reaction, HTLV-I Infections, HTLV-II Infections, HTLV-I Antibodies, HTLV-II Antibodies, Human T-lymphotropic virus 1, Human T-lymphotropic virus 2, Disease Transmission, Infectious, Molecular Sequence Data, Sexual Partners, DNA Primers

Grants: HB97079, N01 HB 47114, N01 HB 97077

Authors: Murphy EL, Schreiber GB, Switzer WM, Thomson R, Heneine W, Kaplan JE, Khabbaz RF, Busch M, Kleinman S, Hermansen S, Roberts C, Lal R, Wright D, Matijas L, Rudolph D

Cite As: Kaplan JE, Khabbaz RF, Murphy EL, Hermansen S, Roberts C, Lal R, Heneine W, Wright D, Matijas L, Thomson R, Rudolph D, Switzer WM, Kleinman S, Busch M, Schreiber GB. Male-to-female transmission of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types I and II: association with viral load. The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study Group. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol 1996 Jun 1;12(2):193-201.

Studies:

Abstract

Risk factors for male-to-female sexual transmission of human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) were investigated among HTLV-seropositive volunteer blood donors and their long-term (> or = 6 month) sex partners. Direction of transmission in concordantly seropositive pairs was assessed by analyzing risk factors for HTLV infection. Donors and their partners were also questioned regarding sexual behaviors during their relationships; HTLV antibody titers and viral load were determined for specimens from male partners. Among 31 couples in whom HTLV-infected men likely transmitted infection to their partners (11 HTLV-I and 20 HTLV-II) and 25 male-positive, female-negative couples (8 HTLV-I and 17 HTLV-II), HTLV transmitter men had been in their relationships longer (mean 225 months vs. 122 months) and had higher viral loads (geometric mean 257,549 vs. 2,945 copies/300,000 cells for HTLV-I; 5,541 vs. 118 copies/300,000 cells for HTLV-II) than non-transmitters (P = 0.018 and P = 0.001 for duration of relationship and viral load, respectively, logistic regression analysis). Transmitter men also tended to have higher antibody titers against various env and whole virus proteins than non-transmitters. The identification of high viral load and duration of relationship as risk factors provides a biologically plausible framework in which to assess risk of sexual transmission of the HTLVs.