Murphy E L, Varney K F, Miyasaki N T, Moore R J, Umekubo J I, Watanabe A N, Khayam-Bashi H
Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0884.
West J Med. 1993 May;158(5):480-3.
The epidemiology of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection is not well defined in Japanese Americans. This impairs using approaches that could reduce viral transmission and monitor carriers for the disease. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and p21e recombinant Western blot testing, HTLV-I antibody was measured in unlinked samples from Japanese-American patients at 4 physicians' offices in San Francisco, California. Of 442 patients, 4 (0.9%; 95% confidence interval 0.25%, 2.3%) were confirmed seropositive, all with an HTLV-I rather than an HTLV-II pattern on Western blot. Seroprevalence was highest among the issei or immigrant generation (3/230 or 1.3%) compared with the second-generation nisei (1/191 or 0.5%) or third-generation sansei (0 of 17). Prevalence did not differ by age or sex, although the number of positive subjects in each subgroup was small. Of 88 patients with familial origins in endemic areas of southern Japan, none were seropositive. In this sample of Japanese Americans, HTLV-I seroprevalence was lower than in residents of endemic southern Japan but higher than among American blood donors. The prevalence was most similar to that in nonendemic areas of Japan. The public health implications of HTLV-I infection among Japanese Americans are discussed.
人类嗜T淋巴细胞病毒I型（HTLV-I）感染在日裔美国人中的流行病学情况尚未明确。这不利于采用能够减少病毒传播以及监测携带者病情的方法。通过酶联免疫吸附测定法和p21e重组免疫印迹检测，对来自加利福尼亚州旧金山4家诊所的日裔美国患者的非关联样本进行了HTLV-I抗体检测。在442名患者中，4人（0.9%；95%置信区间为0.25%，2.3%）被确诊为血清学阳性，所有患者在免疫印迹上均呈现HTLV-I而非HTLV-II的模式。与第二代日裔（1/191或0.5%）或第三代日裔（17人中有0人）相比，血清阳性率在第一代移民（issei）中最高（3/230或1.3%）。患病率在年龄或性别上没有差异，尽管每个亚组中的阳性受试者数量较少。在88名家族起源于日本南部流行地区的患者中，无人血清学阳性。在这个日裔美国人样本中，HTLV-I血清阳性率低于日本南部流行地区的居民，但高于美国献血者。该患病率与日本非流行地区的情况最为相似。本文讨论了日裔美国人中HTLV-I感染对公共卫生的影响。
