HTLV-1 cosmopolitan and HTLV-2 subtype b among pregnant women of non-endemic areas of Argentina
- Carolina A Berini1,
- Cecilia Delfino1,
- Oscar Torres2,
- Gabriela García3,
- Rogelio Espejo4,
- Luis Pianciola5,
- Mirna Juarez6,
- Graciela Arribere7,
- Mónica Nadal2,
- Maria E Eirin1,
- Mirna M Biglione1
- 1Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 2Hospital Materno-Infantil “Ramón Sardá”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 3Hospital “Pedro Fiorito”, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 4Hospital “Guillermo Rawson”, San Juan, Argentina
- 5Hospital “Horacio Heller”, Neuquén, Argentina
- 6Hospital “Eduardo Castro Rendón”, Neuquén, Argentina
- 7Hospital Regional Ushuaia “Ernesto M. Campos”, Ushuaia, Argentina
- Correspondence to Dr Carolina A Berini, Instituto de Investigaciones, Biomédicas sobre Retrovirus y SIDA (INBIRS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos, Aires. Paraguay 2155, Piso 11, Buenos Aires C1121ABG, Argentina; cberini{at}fmed.uba.ar
- Accepted 29 October 2012
- Published Online First 8 December 2012
Abstract
Objectives The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)-1/2, HIV-1, hepatitis B virus (HBV), Trypanosoma cruzi, Treponema pallidum and Toxoplasma gondii infections and to identify the subtypes/subgroups of HTLV-1/2 among pregnant women (PW) from non-endemic provinces of Argentina.
Methods Methods A total of 2403 samples were screened for HTLV-1/2 and confirmed by western blot and PCR. The long terminal repeat (LTR) of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 were amplified. Phylogenetic analysis was performed by Neighbour Joining by using molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (MEGA) 4.0.
Results Among a total of 2403 PW studied, 6 (0.25%) tested positive for HTLV-1/2 (3 HTLV-1 (0.12%) and 3 HTLV-2 (0.12%)). The total prevalence when distributed by province was 0.3% (3/804) for Buenos Aires (BA), 0.4% (1/241) for BA surroundings, 0.1% (1/707) for Neuquen and 1.0% (1/95) for Ushuaia. In San Juan, no PW were HTLV-1/2 positive. The prevalence was similar when compared with rates among blood donors of the same areas and years. The phylogenetic analysis classified one sequence as HTLV-1 aA and one as HTLV-2b. The prevalence of HIV-1, HBV, T cruzi, T pallidum and T gondii was 0.6%, 0.2%, 1.4%, 1.2% and 20.9%, respectively. One case of HTLV-1/HIV-1 and one of HTLV-2/HIV-1 co-infection were detected.
Conclusions HTLV-1/2, which have been associated with different diseases, are circulating among PW of Argentina, even in non-endemic areas. Therefore, testing should be recommended in women who have risk factors for these infections given that the majority of HTLV-1/2 mother to child transmission can be prevented by the avoidance of breast feeding.
