First Description of Seronegative HTLV-1 Carriers in Argentina.

First Description of Seronegative HTLV-1 Carriers in Argentina. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020 Feb 10;: Authors: Gallego S, Frutos MC, Blanco S, Castro G, Balangero M, Elías Panigo D, Mangeaud A, Remondegui C, Santos Rocha A, Melo Franco G, Lobato Martins M, Barbosa-Stancioli EF, Nates S Abstract In some areas of Argentina endemic for human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), tropical spastic paraparesis is frequent in subjects who lack antibodies against the virus; however, the relevance of this seronegative status in the country has not been investigated. In neighboring countries, HTLV-1-seronegative status has been described in patients with different diseases; however, data regarding features of seronegative HTLV-1 carriers are scarce. We investigated the seronegative status in 124 relatives of 28 HTLV-1-infected subjects from an endemic area in Northwest Argentina. Blood samples and clinical/epidemiological data were collected. Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 infection was diagnosed by serology and LTR, env and tax gene detection. IgG anti-Tax HTLV-1 antibody, tax gene sequence, and DNA proviral load were also evaluated. Seventy-five percent of the 124 relatives were negative for HTLV-1/2 antibodies; 35.5% were also negative by molecular assays and 64.5% were negative for HTLV-1 LTR and env sequences, but positive for two sequences of HTLV-1 tax gene. Also, 35.7% of these subjects had IgG anti-Tax antibodies. The seronegative HTLV...
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research