ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is difficulty in gathering data on the prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus in blood donors as confirmatory testing is not mandatory in Brazil. This suggests there may be an underreporting of the prevalence. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 in donors of a blood bank in Caruaru, Brazil. METHODS: This was an observational, epidemiological, descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study with information about the serology of donors of the Caruaru Blood Center, Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia de Pernambuco (Hemope) from May 2006 to December 2010. The data were analyzed using the Excel 2010 computer program (Microsoft Office(r)). RESULTS: Of 61,881 donors, 60 (0.096%) individuals were identified as potential carriers of human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2. Of these, 28 (0.045%) were positive and 32 (0.051%) had inconclusive results in the serological screening. Forty-five (0.072%) were retested; 17 were positive (0.027%) and 3 inconclusive (0.005%). After confirmatory tests, 8 were positive (0.013%). Six (75%) of the confirmed cases were women. CONCLUSION: Epidemiological surveys like this are very important in order to create campaigns to attract donors and reduce the costs of laboratory tests. .