RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Trends in the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections in Spain A1 Treviño, Ana A1 Aguilera, Antonio A1 Caballero, Estrella A1 Benito, Rafael A1 Parra, Patricia A1 Eiros Bouza, José María A1 Hernández, Araceli A1 Calderón, Enrique A1 Rodríguez, Manuel A1 Torres, Álvaro A1 García, Juan A1 Ramos, José Manuel A1 Roc, Lourdes A1 Marcaida, Goitzane A1 Rodríguez, Carmen A1 Trigo, Matilde A1 Gómez, César A1 Ortiz de Lejarazu Leonardo, Raúl A1 Mendoza, Carmen de A1 Soriano, Vincent K1 Seroprevalencia K1 Epidemiología K1 HTLV K1 32 Ciencias Médicas AB Background: Although most HTLV infections in Spain have been found in native intravenous drug users carrying HTLV-2, the large immigration flows from Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years may have changed the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections, and hypothetically open the opportunity for introducing HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 in Spain. To assess the current seroprevalence of HTLV infection in Spain a national multicenter, cross-sectional, study was conducted in June 2009.Results: A total of 6,460 consecutive outpatients attending 16 hospitals were examined. Overall, 12% were immigrants, and their main origin was Latin America (4.9%), Africa (3.6%) and other European countries (2.8%). Nine individuals were seroreactive for HTLV antibodies (overall prevalence, 0.14%). Evidence of HTLV-1 infection was confirmed by Western blot in 4 subjects (prevalence 0.06%) while HTLV-2 infection was found in 5 (prevalence 0.08%). Infection with HTLV types 1, 2, 3 and 4 was discarded by Western blot and specific PCR assays in another two specimens initially reactive in the enzyme immunoassay. All but one HTLV-1 cases were Latin-Americans while all persons with HTLV-2 infection were native Spaniards.Conclusions:The overall prevalence of HTLV infections in Spain remains low, with no evidence of HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 infections so far. PB BioMed Central (BMC) SN 1743-422X YR 2012 FD 2012 LK http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/46015 UL http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/46015 LA eng NO Virology Journal, 2012, vol. 9, n. 1, art. 71 NO Producción Científica DS UVaDOC RD 11-jul-2024