A NEW HTLV TYPE-II SUBTYPE-A ISOLATE IN AN HIV TYPE-1-INFECTED PROSTITUTE FROM CAMEROON, CENTRAL-AFRICA

Among 332 female sex workers in Douala, Cameroon, 113 were HIV-1 serop ositive, 3 were HTLV-I seropositive, and only 1 had specific anti-HTLV -II antibodies, By cocultivation with BJAB cells, an HTLV-H was isolat ed from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of this 32-year-old wom an coinfected by HIV-1. This new African HTLV-II isolate (PH230PCAM) b elongs to the molecular subtype A, exhibiting, however, a nucleotide v ariability of 2.4% and 0.8%, vis-a-vis the MO prototype, in the LTR an d in the gp21 env gene, respectively, These data, as well as the previ ous findings of another HTLV-II subtype A in a Ghanean prostitute, sug gest that this viral subtype had been imported into Africa, while the HTLV-II subtype B, described in remote areas of Zaire, Gabon, and Came roon, could be a genuine African HTLV-II, present in this continent fo r a long period of time.