Identification of human T-cell lymphotropic virus infection in a semi-isolated Afro-Brazilian quilombo located in the Marajó Island (Pará, Brazil)

• Main Authors: ACR Vallinoto, GS Pontes, NA Muto, IGL Lopes, LFA Machado, VN Azevedo, FAPL Carvalhaes, SEB Santos, JF Guerreiro, MOG Ishak, R Ishak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Ministério da Saúde 2006-02-01
• Series: Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.
• Subjects: human T-cell lymphotropic virus; Afro-Brazilian communities; Marajó Island; Brazil
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02762006000100020
• ISSN: 0074-0276; 1678-8060

Antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 and 2 (HTLV-1 and 2) were tested in 259 inhabitants (98 males and 161 females) of four villages of the Marajó Island (Pará, Brazil) using enzyme immunoassays (ELISA and Western blot). Types and subtypes of HTLV were determined by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the pX, env and 5´LTR regions. HTLV-1 infection was detected in Santana do Arari (2.06%) and Ponta de Pedras (1%). HTLV-2 was detected only in Santana do Arari (1.06%). Sequencing of the 5´LTR region of HTLV-1 and the phylogenetic analysis identified the virus as a member of the Cosmopolitan Group, subgroup Transcontinental. Santana do Arari is an Afro-Brazilian community and the current results represent the first report of HTLV-1 infection in a mocambo located in the Brazilian Amazon region.