Seroprevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection (HTLV1) in different patients in the north of Iran

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV1) is a lymphotropic virus which can contribute to carcinogenesis in adult T-cell leukemia, myleopathy and other disorders. 20 million people are affected by this virus in the world. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of human T-cell lymph tropic virus type 1 infection in patients referred to Emam’s hospital laboratory in Sari. A cross-sectional study was done in 2009 to 2010 based on the different patients that were referred to Emam`s hospital laboratory in Sari. Our samples were selected by simple random selection, after venous blood sample was centrifuged and reserved in -70°C. All the samples were tested by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA). An ELISA positive result was checked by Western blot (WB) assays. Out of 1200 cases, 776 were female (65%) with ages between 1 and 76 years old. Most of the cases were Mazandaranian (99%); although only one person was recorded as HTLV1 positive (0.08%). He was a 41 years old man, living in Sari, with high school education. He was married (one wife) without any risk factor in past medical history, such as surgery, transfusion and abuse of injection, but he had HBV infection. Most of the females were housewives and most of the males were non-governmental employees; moreover, diabetes was more common among them. The results of the samples show that 122 women were pregnant, 92 cases had transfusion and 642 cases had different surgery. It was observed that the incidence of HTLV1 infection was very rare in the north of Iran (Sari); therefore, the routine HTLV1 screening was not recommended.Key words: Seroprevalence, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV1), patients, Iran