Human T-cell lymphotropic virus, types I and II infection among blood bank donors

ABSTRACT

The epirdemiology of HTLV-I/II is poorly understood allover the world, there is no any published paper with regard to the seroprevalence of HTLV-I/Il in Egypt Screening blood donors for antibodies to HTLV-I/II in our locality and their association with other pathogenic blood born viruses. we examined 176 blood donors for HTLV-I/II antibodies HBsAg. anti -HBc, anti -HCV and ALT level Among blood donors, 3.4% were HTLV-I/II positive The seropositivity did not increase significantly with age, but it was more in the fourth decade. No one female was HTLV-I/II Positive. There was no significant difference between rural and urban blood donors. The blood donors with high ALT level wet-c significantly [P<0.0001] more likely to be HTLV-I/II seropositive There was also significant association of HTLV-I/II seropositivity with HCV infection [P<0.05], while, there was no significant association wit h HBV infection. The high infection rate [3.4%] among blood donor papulation and its significant association with HCV and high ALT represent evidences for the need for routine blood screening for HTL V-I/II as a means of reducing viral transmission and subsequent evidence of HTLV related illnesses. Those seropositive must be deferred. The use of high efficiency filters can significantly reduce post-transfusion HTLV-I/II infection from random blood donors