FAILURE TO DETECT HUMAN T-LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS-ANTIBODY IN WILD-CAUGHT NEW-WORLD PRIMATES

We conducted a study to look for a simian counterpart of human T-lymph otropic virus (HTLV) in wild-caught monkeys in the Republic of Panama. Serum specimens were obtained from 102 monkeys (Ateles fusciceps, n = 75; Alouatta villosa, n = 18; and Cebus capucinus, n = 9) captured in Panama's Darien rain forest in 1979-1980. Specimens were screened for HTLV antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and reactive spec imens were further tested by Western blot. None of the 102 specimens w ere seropositive for HTLV. Our findings provide no evidence for an HTL V-like virus in New World primates from Panama, but the sample size wa s small, and further studies are warranted.