Institute of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil.
Faculty of Nursing, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil.
Front Public Health. 2023 Oct 6;11:1265100. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1265100. eCollection 2023.
Migratory flows play a significant role in the spread of human T-lymphotropic virus 1/2 (HTLV-1/2). In the last decade, a substantial migration of individuals occurred from Haiti and Venezuela to Brazil. However, data on the prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection among these international migrants in Brazil are scarce. This study describes the prevalence of this infection among immigrants and refugees in Central Brazil.
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 537 international migrants in the State of Goiás, Central Brazil. Participants were interviewed, and blood samples were collected. Serological screening for anti-HTLV-1/2 was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Murex HTLV-I + II, DiaSorin, Dartford, UK), and seropositive samples were submitted for confirmation by a line immunoassay (INNO-LIA HTLV I/II, Fujirebio, Europe N.V., Belgium).
The majority of participants were males (54.4%), between 18 and 50 years old (78%; mean age: 29.1 years), self-declared black (55.1%), reported 1 to 12 years of formal education (70.9%), and were either Venezuelans (47.9%) or Haitians (39.7%). Additionally, 50.1% were immigrants, 49% were refugees, and five were Brazilian children (0.9%) born to Haitian immigrant parents. The overall prevalence of anti-HTLV-1/2 was 0.95% (95% CI: 0.31-2.28), with HTLV-1 at 0.19% and HTLV-2 at 0.76%. All seropositive individuals ( = 5) were refugees from Venezuela, resulting in a rate of 2.26% for anti-HTLV-1/2, HTLV-1 (0.45%) and HTLV-2 (1.81%) among Venezuelan refugees. Of the demographic and behavioral characteristics evaluated, unprotected sexual intercourse and having more than one sexual partner (≥2) in the previous 12 months were associated with HTLV-1/2 seropositivity among Venezuelans.
This study revealed, despite the low seroprevalence of HTLV-1/2 among international migrants in Central Brazil, evidence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infections in Venezuelan refugees. In addition, their characteristics highlight that specific social and health programs should be implemented for these emergent and socially vulnerable migrant groups.
迁移流动在人类 T 淋巴细胞嗜病毒 1/2（HTLV-1/2）的传播中起着重要作用。在过去十年中，大量来自海地和委内瑞拉的个人迁移到巴西。然而，关于巴西这些国际移民中 HTLV-1/2 感染的流行率数据却很少。本研究描述了巴西中部移民中这种感染的流行率。
在巴西戈亚斯州进行了一项横断面研究，共纳入 537 名国际移民。对参与者进行访谈并采集血样。使用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA；Murex HTLV-I+II，DiaSorin，达特福德，英国）进行抗 HTLV-1/2 的血清学筛查，对阳性血清样本进行线免疫分析法（INNO-LIA HTLV I/II，富士瑞必欧，欧洲 NV，比利时）确认。
大多数参与者为男性（54.4%），年龄在 18 至 50 岁之间（78%；平均年龄：29.1 岁），自我认定为黑人（55.1%），完成 1 至 12 年正规教育（70.9%），他们要么是委内瑞拉人（47.9%），要么是海地人（39.7%）。此外，50.1%是移民，49%是难民，还有 5 名海地移民父母所生的巴西儿童（0.9%）。抗 HTLV-1/2 的总流行率为 0.95%（95%CI：0.31-2.28），其中 HTLV-1 为 0.19%，HTLV-2 为 0.76%。所有血清阳性者（ = 5）均为来自委内瑞拉的难民，导致委内瑞拉难民抗 HTLV-1/2、HTLV-1（0.45%）和 HTLV-2（1.81%）的流行率分别为 2.26%。在所评估的人口统计学和行为特征中，在过去 12 个月中无保护性行为和有 2 个或以上性伴侣（≥2）与委内瑞拉人的 HTLV-1/2 血清阳性相关。
本研究表明，尽管巴西中部国际移民中 HTLV-1/2 的血清流行率较低，但仍存在 HTLV-1 和 HTLV-2 感染的证据，尤其是在委内瑞拉难民中。此外，他们的特征突出表明，应针对这些新出现的、社会弱势群体的移民群体实施特定的社会和卫生方案。
