Prevalence of HTLV type I infection in Iran: a serological and genetic study.

Abstract

Several publications describe the presence of the human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in Jewish individuals born in Mash-had, Iran. We report here the results of HTLV-I serological and genetic studies in the non-Jewish population of Mash-had as well as a neighboring area: Gonbad-Kavous. Seven hundred and seven serum samples from Mash-had (694 healthy individuals and 13 patients with lymphoma) and 90 from Gonbad-Kavous were tested for HTLV antibodies by gelatin particle agglutination assay (PA) and confirmatory Western blots (WBs). Seropositive rates of 3.0% (21 of 694) in Mash-had, 0% (0 of 90) in Gonbad-Kavous, and 100% (13 of 13) in lymphoma cases were observed. HTLV-I DNA sequence were amplified by polymerase chain reaction directly from the fresh PBMCs of seropositive individuals. Phylogenetic analysis of the viral DNA sequence indicated that the HTLV-I present in Mash-had belong to the HTLV-I cosmopolitan clade. Altogether, these data indicate that Mash-had, located in northeastern Iran, is a newly recognized endemic center for HTLV-I.

• Authors: B Safai, J L Huang, E Boeri, R Farid, J Raafat, P Schutzer, R Ahkami, G Franchini
• Journal: AIDS research and human retroviruses (AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses) Vol. 12 Issue 12 Pg. 1185-90 (Aug 10 1996) ISSN: 0889-2229 [Print] United States
• PMID: 8844023 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Base Sequence
• HTLV-I Infections (blood, epidemiology, ethnology, genetics)
• Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (genetics, isolation & purification)
• Humans
• Iran
• Jews
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Serologic Tests