Human T-cell lymphotropic virus infection among blood donors in south Florida. The Transfusion Safety Study Group.

Pubmed ID: 1670589

Journal: Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes

Publication Date: Jan. 1, 1991

Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of Miami.

MeSH Terms: Humans, Male, Adult, Female, Aged, Age Factors, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Sex Factors, Blood Donors, Follow-Up Studies, Predictive Value of Tests, Radioimmunoassay, Deltaretrovirus Antibodies, Deltaretrovirus Infections, Florida, Blotting, Western, Immunoenzyme Techniques, Radioimmunoprecipitation Assay

Grants: N01-HB-4-7002, N01-HB-4-7003, N01-HB-9-7074

Authors: Hollingsworth CG, Schiff ER, Tomasulo PA, Lee H, Parks WP, Lai S, Lenes BA, Parks ES, Shaw GM, Yan HQ

Cite As: Parks WP, Lenes BA, Tomasulo PA, Schiff ER, Parks ES, Shaw GM, Lee H, Yan HQ, Lai S, Hollingsworth CG. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus infection among blood donors in south Florida. The Transfusion Safety Study Group. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr (1988) 1991;4(1):89-96.

Studies:

Abstract

Knowledge of the epidemiologic pattern of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) in the United States is being enlarged by blood donor screening. We tested stored sera from 29,937 donations made in South Florida in 1984-1985. Twenty-three donors were confirmed as seropositive, a prevalence of 0.8 per 1,000 donations. Specificity was supported by serologic retesting and virus culture of 11 donors located for follow-up. Sex- and age-specific prevalences did not differ significantly; blacks, however, accounted for 65% of seropositive donations. Within South Florida, one section of Miami had a prevalence of 4.5 per 1,000 donations, significantly above the 0.1 to 1.1 per 1,000 rates for other parts. An epidemiologic association with known HTLV-I endemic areas could account for most infections; all seven typed isolates were characterized as HTLV-I. Exposures, however, were diverse, sometimes multiple, and had no necessary relationship to personal lifestyle. This finding suggests that sources of infection were varied. Seropositive family members emphasize familial clustering of HTLV-I infection.