We conducted a cross-sectional study of the spatial distribution of HTLV-I/II infection among blood donors of Hemominas Foundation, living in Belo Horizonte, from 1994 to 1996. Study population (1,022) was composed by 533 cases (positive Western Blot (WB), indeterminate WB and ELISA positive without WB result) and a random sample of 489 non-cases (HTLV-I/II serum negative). Cases and non-cases ...

Of the 267,650 blood donations from members of the US armed forces, 72 (0.027%) were serologically confirmed to be positive for human T-lymphotropic virus type I/II (HTLVpos) and 379 (0.14%) were Western blot (WB)-indeterminate with banding pattern restricted to the proteins encoded by the gag gene only (HTLVind). To determine whether these apparently healthy HTLVind blood donors are infected w...

We have evaluated a new serological confirmatory test (INNO-LIA HTLV I/II Ab [INNO-LIA]) for human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) using a large collection of samples from Brazilian blood donors (São Paulo region) and compared the results with those obtained by Western blotting (WB) tests (WB2.3 and WB2.4). Blood donations were initially screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) base...

This report is an analysis of results provided to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by participant laboratories in the Model Performance Evaluation Program (MPEP) after they tested the human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) performance evaluation samples shipped to them on May 5, 1997. Testing results for this analysis were provided by 185 (86.4%) of 214 labora...

BACKGROUND Wuchereria bancrofti (Wb) is the primary causative agent of lymphatic filariasis (LF). Our studies of LF in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have shown that it is possible to reduce the prevalence of Wb in humans and mosquitoes through mass drug administration (MDA; diethylcarbamazine with/without ivermectin). While MDAs in the Dreikikir region through 1998 significantly reduced prevalence of ...

BACKGROUND Stability and transport challenges make hemoglobin (Hb) A(1c) measurement from EDTA whole blood (WB) inconvenient and costly for large-scale population studies. This study investigated Hb A(1c) measurement from WB blotted on filter paper (FP) in a Level I National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (NGSP)-accredited laboratory. METHODS Three Bio-Rad Variant™ II HPLC instrument...

BACKGROUND Leptospirosis is diagnosed on clinical grounds, and confirmed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). IgM-ELISA (Serion-Virion) and immunochromatography test (Leptocheck-WB) are two immunodiagnostic assays for leptospirosis. Their sensitivity, specificity and applicability in Sri Lanka have not been systematically evaluated. METHODS Clinically diagnosed leptospirosis patients (n =...

Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infects an estimated 15-20 million persons worldwide. A number of diseases have been associated with the virus including adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), HTLV-I uveitis, and HTLV-I-associated infective dermatitis. Once it was shown that there is an increased risk for developing HAM/TSP asso...

Serologic screening for human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) infection was begun in US blood banks with the licensure of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in December 1988. We examined the donation histories of the first 60 Western blot (WB)-confirmed HTLV-I/II positive donors to one blood center and found 8 had made 16 previous donations that scored negative on the screening EL...

BACKGROUND In Brazil, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and type II (HTLV-I and HTLV-II) are co-circulating and possess approximately 65% homology, which results in high cross-reactivity in serological tests. Based on the detection of EIA and Western blot (WB) tests, HTLV serodiagnosis yields indeterminate results in high-risk population, with the true determination of HTLV-II prevalence r...