PREVALENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS TYPE-I AND TYPE-II IN VOLUNTEER BLOOD-DONORS AND HIGH-RISK GROUPS IN NORTHWESTERN GREECE

Background: In addition to human immunodeficiency virus, human T-lymph otropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) is prevalent among blood dono rs in the United States. In Greece, there are no epidemiologic data re garding the prevalence of HTLV-I/II among volunteer blood donors and h igh-risk groups. Study Design and Methods: To determine the prevalence of HTLV-I/II infections in northwestern Greece, a seroepidemiologic s tudy was conducted among volunteer blood donors, multiply transfused p atients, heroin addicts, and chronic hemodialysis patients. The subjec ts were tested for seroloaic evidence of HTLV-I/II infection by enzyme immunoassays and specific protein immunoblot confirmatory test. Resul ts: None of the volunteer blood donors and heroin addicts had detectab le antibodies to HTLV-I/II. Only 1 (1.45%) of the 69 multiply transfus ed patients had indeterminate results, while 2 (1.2%) of 163 hemodialy sis patients were positive. Conclusion: In northwestern Greece, routin e screening for HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections does not appear to be re quired. However, the finding of seropositivity among hemodialysis pati ents requires further evaluation of the origin of the infection, as it s zero prevalence in this population seems; to exclude transfusion tra nsmission.