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 Original Articles |
| The Seroepidemiologic Study for Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type I(HTLV-I) Infection in Residents of Cheiu-Do |
| June Myung Kim/Eung Kim/Chang Hyun Choi/Suk Min Kang/Won Tsen Kim/Tai Young Yoon/Jung Myung Choi/Sun Young Park/Dong Joon Lew |
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Vol.29 Num.3 (p171~181)
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Background : Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I(HTLV-I) is a retrovirus that
has been identified as a cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and tropical spastic
paraparesis. HTLV-I infection is highly endemic in the southwestern islands of Japan,
Caribbean basin, South America, and Africa. In 1993, we showed that the seroprevalence
of antibodies to HTLV-I was 0.13% among blood donors in Korea, but surprisingly,
0.80% in Cheju-Do adjacent to endemic areas of Japan. So this study was designed to
reevaluate the seroprevalence of antibodies to HTLV-I among residents in Cheju-Do.
Methods : 1 Total 2,372 residents in Cheju-Do were tested from December, 1995 to
March, 1996. Anti-HTLV-I antibodies were detected by the microtiter particle
agglutination test.
Results : Among total 2,372 residents, 19 were anti-HTLV-I positive. So the overall
positive rate of anti-HTLV-I antibodies was 0.80%. The Positive rate in females was
higher than in males(0.82% vs 0.78%). The positive rate was 1.45% in the age group of
20-29 years, 1.41% in 40-B9 years, 0.91% in 0-9 years, 0.70% in 30-39 years, and
0.54% in 50-59 years. The mean age of seropositives is 35.2 in males and 35.4 in
females, with a mean of 35.3. Geographically, high Positive rate was observed in
Sogwipo-City(1.37%) and Namcheju-Gun(0.83%) compared to those of
Pukcheju-Gun(0.64%) and Cheju-City(0.61%), which showed high seroprevalence in
districts adjacent to endemic areas of Japan. Any specific risk factors or associated
disorders of HTLV-I infection could not be found among the seropositives.
Conclusion : The seroprevalence of antibodies to HTLV-I in Cheju-Do was noted to
be very high by the microtiter particle agglutination test. So henceforth serosurvey by
confirmative laboratory tests is needed, and if high seroprevalence is showed from it,
screening of blood donors for HTLV-I in Cheju-Do should be considered to prevent
transfusion-associated HTLV-I infection. |
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Keywords : Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, Seropositivity, Particle agglutination test |
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