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Significance of indeterminate reactivity to human T-Cell lymphotropic virus in Western blot analysis of individuals at risk

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Abstract

Current tests to confirm human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection in individuals at risk of retroviral infection commonly yield indeterminate results. To assess the significance of HTLV-seroindeterminate reactivities in a high-risk population, 16 at-risk individuals who had this serologic pattern by Western blot were studied using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II infection was confirmed by the presence of virus-specific nucleic acid in four patients. However, PCR analysis was negative in the remaining 12 individuals. These results indicate strongly that all specimens from at-risk individuals with nondiagnostic HTLV reactivity by current Western blot assay should continue to be considered inconclusive, requiring further testing by more sensitive tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Viral Hepatitis and AIDS Study Group, Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla, Spain

    F. J. Medrano, E. J. Calderón, M. Leal & E. Lissen

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Viral Hepatitis and AIDS Study Group, Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n, 41013, Sevilla, Spain

    C. Rey

  3. Service of Infectious Diseases, Centro de Investigaciones Clinicas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    V. Soriano, R. Bravo & J. González-Lahoz

  4. Service of Microbiology, Centro de Investigaciones Clinicas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    M. Gutiérrez

Authors
  1. F. J. Medrano
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  2. V. Soriano
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  3. E. J. Calderón
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  4. C. Rey
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  5. M. Gutiérrez
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  6. R. Bravo
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  7. M. Leal
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  8. J. González-Lahoz
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  9. E. Lissen
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Medrano, F.J., Soriano, V., Calderón, E.J. et al. Significance of indeterminate reactivity to human T-Cell lymphotropic virus in Western blot analysis of individuals at risk. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 16, 249–252 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709592

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709592

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