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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2008, p. 3607-3614, Vol. 46, No. 11
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01249-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

New Insights into Prevalence, Genetic Diversity, and Proviral Load of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Types 1 and 2 in Pregnant Women in Gabon in Equatorial Central Africa {triangledown}

Sonia Lekana-Douki Etenna,1 Mélanie Caron,1 Guillaume Besson,1 Maria Makuwa,1 Antoine Gessain,2 Antoine Mahé,3,4 and Mirdad Kazanji1,4,5*

Unité de Rétrovirologie, Centre International de Recherches Médicales, BP 769, Franceville, Gabon,1 Unité d'Epidémiologie et Physiopathologie des Virus Oncogènes, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France,2 Programme National de Lutte contre le Sida, Libreville, Gabon,3 Service de Coopération et d'Action Culturelle, French Embassy, BP 2105, Libreville, Gabon,4 Réseau International des Instituts Pasteur, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France5

Received 2 July 2008/ Returned for modification 31 July 2008/ Accepted 18 September 2008

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is highly endemic in areas of central Africa; mother-to-child transmission and sexual transmission are considered to be the predominant routes. To determine the prevalence and subtypes of HTLV-1/2 in pregnant women in Gabon, we conducted an epidemiological survey in the five main cities of the country. In 907 samples, the HTLV-1 seroprevalence was 2.1%, which is lower than that previously reported. Only one case of HTLV-2 infection was found. The HTLV-1 seroprevalence increased with age and differed between regions (P ≤ 0.05), with the highest prevalence (5%) in the southeastern region. A wide range of HTLV-1 proviral loads was observed among the infected women. The level of the proviral load was correlated with a high HTLV-1 antibody titer (P ≤ 0.02). Sequencing of HTLV-1 env and long terminal repeat fragments showed that all but one strain belonged to the central African subtype B; the outlier was of cosmopolitan subtype A. The new strains of subtype B exhibited wide genetic diversity, but there was no evidence of clustering of specific genomes within geographical regions of the country. Some strains were closely related to simian T-cell leukemia virus type 1 strains of great apes, suggesting that in these areas some HTLV-1 strains could arise from relatively recent interspecies transmission. The sole HTLV-2 strain belonged to subtype B. In this study we showed that the prevalence of HTLV-1 in the southeast is one of the highest in the world for pregnant women.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Département de Rétrovirologie, Centre International de Recherches Médicales, BP 769 Franceville, Gabon. Phone: 241 06 63 66 61. Fax: 241 67 72 95. E-mail: m.kazanji{at}cirmf.org

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 24 September 2008.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2008, p. 3607-3614, Vol. 46, No. 11
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01249-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Besson, G., Kazanji, M. (2009). One-Step, Multiplex, Real-Time PCR Assay with Molecular Beacon Probes for Simultaneous Detection, Differentiation, and Quantification of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Types 1, 2, and 3. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1129-1135 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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