Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of a human T cell leukemia virus type 2 strain from French Guiana

Extensive studies have been carried out on native Amerindian populations li ving in French Guiana in an attempt to detect human T cell leukemia virus t ype 2 (HTLV-2). However, the first strain of this virus identified in this region was not detected in these populations, but in a Brazilian woman of A merindian origin. Comparative analyses of the nucleotide sequences of 589 b p of the gp21 env gene and of 625 bp of the long terminal repeat (LTR) show ed that this new HTLV-2 strain (HTLV-2 GUY) was of subtype A. Sequence comp arison and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that HTLV-2 GUY was closely r elated to a group of distinct variants of HTLV-2 subtype A strains originat ing mostly from Brazilian inhabitants and formerly called HTLV-2 subtype C. As there is a high level of immigration from Brazil in French Guiana, we c arried out a seroepidemiological study of 175 Brazilians, mostly women (obt ained from a serum databank) and 72 female Brazilian prostitutes living in French Guiana to determine whether HTLV-2 is likely to become an emerging i nfection in this area. No HTLV-2 infection was detected, indicating that th is virus is unlikely to become prevalent in the near future.