New insights into prevalence, genetic diversity, and proviral load of human T-cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2 in pregnant women in Gabon in equatorial central Africa.

Sonia Lekana-Douki Etenna (1) , Mélanie Caron (1) , Guillaume Besson (1) , Maria Makuwa (1) , Antoine Gessain (2) , Antoine Mahé (3, 4) , Mirdad Kazanji (1, 4, 5)

1 Unité de Rétrovirologie
2 Epidémiologie et Physiopathologie des Virus Oncogènes
3 Programme National de Lutte contre le Sida
4 Service de Coopération et d'Action Culturelle
5 RIIP - Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is highly endemic in areas of central Africa; mother-to-child transmission and sexual transmission are considered to be the predominant routes. To determine the prevalence and subtypes of HTLV-1/2 in pregnant women in Gabon, we conducted an epidemiological survey in the five main cities of the country. In 907 samples, the HTLV-1 seroprevalence was 2.1%, which is lower than that previously reported. Only one case of HTLV-2 infection was found. The HTLV-1 seroprevalence increased with age and differed between regions (P

Domains: Microbiology and Parasitology

Sonia Lekana-Douki Etenna, Mélanie Caron, Guillaume Besson, Maria Makuwa, Antoine Gessain, et al.. New insights into prevalence, genetic diversity, and proviral load of human T-cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2 in pregnant women in Gabon in equatorial central Africa.. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2008, 46 (11), pp.3607-14. ⟨10.1128/JCM.01249-08⟩. ⟨pasteur-00363876⟩