Human T-lymphotropic virus I/II detection in Chilean patients from Sexually Transmitted Diseases clinics Detección de virus linfotrópico de células T humano-I/II en pacientes con enfermedades de transmisión sexual de Santiago

Abstract

Background: The human T-lymphotropic virus I (HTLV-I) causes spastic paraparesis and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. It can be sexually transmitted and is highly prevalent in Central and South America. Aim: To study HTLV-I/II prevalence in serum samples obtained from two Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) clinics. Material and Methods: Two hundred serum samples were randomly chosen from two reference STD centers of Santiago. The presence of specific HTLV I/II antibodies was detected by indirect immunofluorescence. Results: The analyzed samples came from participants aged 14 to 70 years. Forty nine percent were women and 76% were heterosexual. Only one of the 200 samples was positive (0.5%) and it came from a 70 year-old woman, housewife, with a stable single partner, a history of recurrent genital ulcers, VDRL (-) and positive serology for herpes simplex virus. Conclusions: The prevalence of HTLV-I found in this group is similar to that demonstrated in other populations in Chile, exce