HTLV-1 infections

Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) causes disabling and fatal disea ses, yet there is no vaccine, no satisfactory treatment, and no means of as sessing the risk of disease or prognosis in infected people. Recent researc h on the molecular virology and immunology of HTLV-1 shows the importance o f the host's immune response in reducing the risk of these diseases, and is beginning to explain why some HTLV-1 infected people develop serious illne sses whereas most remain healthy life long carriers of the virus. These fin dings might be applicable to other persistent virus infections such as huma n immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.