Clinical Information

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/-2) are closely related exogenous human retroviruses. HTLV-1 was first isolated in 1980 from a patient with a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, while HTLV-2 was identified from a patient with hairy cell leukemia in 1982.

HTLV-1 infection is endemic in southwestern Japan, the Caribbean basin, Melanesia, and parts of Africa, where HTLV-1 seroprevalence rates are as high as 15% in the general population. In the United States, the combined HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 seroprevalence rate is about 0.016% among voluntary blood donors. About half of these infected blood donors are infected with HTLV-1, with most of them reporting a history of birth in HTLV-1-endemic countries or sexual contact with persons from the Caribbean or Japan. Smaller percentages report a history of either injection drug use or blood transfusion. Transmission of HTLV-1 occurs from mother to fetus, sexual contact, blood transfusion, and sharing of contaminated needles. Two diseases are known to be caused by HTLV-1 infection: adult T-cell leukemia or lymphoma, and a chronic degenerative neurologic disease known as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy or tropical spastic paraparesis. Cases of polymyositis, chronic arthropathy, panbronchiolitis, and uveitis also have been reported in patients with a HTLV-I infection.

In the United States and Europe, HTLV-2 is prevalent among persons who inject drugs (PWID). In the United States, over 80% of HTLV infections in drug users are due to HTLV-2. HTLV-2 appears to be endemic in American indigenous populations, including the Guaymi tribe in Panama and Native Americans in Florida and New Mexico. HTLV-2-infected blood donors most often report either a history of injection drug use or a history of sexual contact with a PWID. A smaller percentage of infected individuals report a history of blood transfusion. HTLV-2 is transmitted similarly to HTLV-1, but much less is known about the specific modes and efficiency of transmission of HTLV-2. The virus can be transmitted by transfusion of cellular blood products (whole blood, red blood cells, and platelets). HTLV-2 infection has been associated with hairy-cell leukemia, but definitive evidence is lacking on a viral etiologic role. HTLV-2 has also been linked with neurodegenerative disorders characterized by spastic paraparesis and variable degrees of ataxia.

Infection by these viruses results in the appearance of specific antibodies against the viruses that can be detected by serologic tests such as enzyme immunoassay. For accurate diagnosis of HTLV-1 or HTLV-2 infection, all initially screening test-reactive results should be verified by a confirmatory test, such as Western blot or line immunoassay.