Sexually transmitted Infections Clinic, Centro Sanitario Sandoval, Madrid, Spain.
Microbiology Department, Hospital Clínico Universitario Lozano Blesa, Zaragoza, Spain.
Front Immunol. 2023 Dec 7;14:1277793. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1277793. eCollection 2023.
HTLV-1 infection is a neglected disease, despite estimates of 10 million people infected worldwide and producing life-threatening illnesses in 10% of carriers. Sexual transmission is the main route of contagion. However, HTLV-1 is not listed among sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Serum from all consecutive individuals who had attended six STI clinics across Spain during the last 12 months were tested for HTLV antibodies using a commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Reactive samples were confirmed by immunoblot.
A total of 2,524 samples were examined. The majority (1,936; 76.7%) belonged to men, of whom 676 (34.9%) were men who have sex with men (MSM) receiving HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Although native Spaniards predominated (1,470; 58.2%), up to 593 (23.5%) came from Latin America and 139 (5.5%) were African. A total of 26 individuals were initially EIA reactive and immunoblot confirmed 5 as HTLV-1 and 7 as HTLV-2. All but one HTLV-1+ case came from Latin America. Three were men and two were women. Among Latin Americans, the HTLV-1 seroprevalence was 0.67%. In contrast, all seven HTLV-2+ were native Spaniards and former injection drug users, and all but one were HIV+.
The rate of HTLV infection among individuals with STIs in Spain is 0.5%, which is greater than in the general population. These results support the introduction of universal HTLV screening in persons who attend clinics for STIs.
HTLV-1 感染是一种被忽视的疾病，尽管全球估计有 1000 万人感染，并且 10%的感染者会患上危及生命的疾病。性传播是主要的传染途径。然而，HTLV-1 并未被列入性传播感染（STIs）。
使用商业酶联免疫吸附试验（EIA）检测过去 12 个月内在西班牙六个 STI 诊所就诊的所有连续个体的血清中的 HTLV 抗体。对反应性样本进行免疫印迹确认。
共检查了 2524 个样本。大多数（1936 个；76.7%）属于男性，其中 676 个（34.9%）是接受 HIV 暴露前预防的男男性接触者（MSM）。尽管西班牙本地人占多数（1470 个；58.2%），但多达 593 个（23.5%）来自拉丁美洲，139 个（5.5%）来自非洲。共有 26 个个体最初的 EIA 反应性，免疫印迹确认 5 个为 HTLV-1，7 个为 HTLV-2。除了一个 HTLV-1+病例外，其余均来自拉丁美洲。有 3 个男性和 2 个女性。在拉丁美洲人中，HTLV-1 的血清流行率为 0.67%。相比之下，所有 7 个 HTLV-2+病例都是西班牙本地人，且均为曾经的注射吸毒者，除了一个以外，他们都感染了 HIV。
西班牙性传播感染患者中的 HTLV 感染率为 0.5%，高于一般人群。这些结果支持在性传播感染诊所就诊的人群中进行普遍的 HTLV 筛查。
