SIRIn a recent review of the infectious complications of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection, Marsh [1] suggested that those individuals infected with HTLV-I may be at increased risk of tuberculosis. This risk may be due to reduced delayed-type hypersensitivity to PPD in asymptomatic patients infected with HTLV-l. Up to 14% of the population in Papua New Guinea are infecte...

A distinct clinical entity of uveitis associated with human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I) has been reported previously. During the period between January 1989 and April 1992, 93 patients were observed with HTLV-I uveitis and a significant correlation was found between Graves' disease and HTLV-I uveitis. Sixteen of the 93 patients with HTLV-I uveitis (17.2%) had a previous history of Grav...

For many years, researchers have known that breastfed infants gain some protection from certain viral infections. Occasionally, however, viruses like HIV, a kind of herpes called cytomegalovirus, and HTLV-1, which is linked to leukemia, are transmitted in breast milk from mom to babe. Explaining why infection occurs in some mother-infant pairs but not in many others remains a pressing question....

Almost 40 years ago, the first pathogenic human retrovirus was discovered and shown to cause a T-cell leukemia in humans (Poiesz et al., 1980a, 1981). Thus, a new paradigm was established showing that a virus can directly cause cancer in humans. At that time, the only other suspected case was the connection between the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and Burkitt’s Lymphoma and later nasopharyngeal car...

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is endemic in many parts of the world and is primarily transmitted through sexual intercourse or from mother to child. Sexual transmission occurs more efficiently from men to women than women to men and might be enhanced by sexually transmitted diseases that cause ulcers and result in mucosal ruptures, such as syphilis, herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-...

We report the cases of 5 adolescents with human T lymphotropic virus type 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, acquired in all but 1 case from the mother. The first symptom in all patients was difficulty in running, which was present for many years before the final diagnosis was made. Follow-up showed an indolent progression, regardless of treatment strategy.

BACKGROUND In an earlier study, we detected an association between human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection and cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) in indigenous Amazonian Peruvian women of the Shipibo-Konibo ethnic group. As both HTLV and HPV can be transmitted sexually, we now report a population-based study examining the prevalence and risk factors for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection in ...