ABSTRACT
Human T cell lymphotropic virus belongs to the Retroviridae family, Oncovirinae subfamily, genus Deltaretrovirus, Group VI, positive sense, ssRNA virus and has been linked to the Adult T cell leukaemia/lymphoma, and neurologic disorder called tropical spastic paraparesis. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 and 2 among blood donors at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH). A total of ninety one (91) fit blood donors were recruited at the donor clinic AKTH and were screened for HTLV 1 and 2 by Enzyme Linked ImmunosorbentAssay (ELISA).Seroprevalence of HTLV 1 and 2 among the study subjects was 1.1%. This showed that the virus is in circulation in Kano community. There is need for expanded community based study on HTLV among prospective blood donors in Kano State and Nigeria in general to ascertain the actual prevalence of this virus so as to minimize the risk of transferring of the virus from infected individual to non infected person