Document 0731
 DOCN  M9590731
 TI    Prevalence of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus types I and II in
       volunteer blood donors and high-risk groups in northwestern Greece.
 DT    9509
 AU    Dalekos GN; Zervou E; Karabini F; Elisaf M; Bourantas K; Siamopoulos KC;
       Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Ioannina,;
       Greece.
 SO    Transfusion. 1995 Jun;35(6):503-6. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95288770
 AB    BACKGROUND: In addition to human immunodeficiency virus, human
       T-lymphotropic virus types I and II (HTLV-I/II) is prevalent among blood
       donors in the United States. In Greece, there are no epidemiologic data
       regarding the prevalence of HTLV-I/II among volunteer blood donors and
       high-risk groups. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: To determine the prevalence
       of HTLV-I/II infections in northwestern Greece, a seroepidemiologic
       study was conducted among volunteer blood donors, multiply transfused
       patients, heroin addicts, and chronic hemodialysis patients. The
       subjects were tested for serologic evidence of HTLV-I/II infection by
       enzyme immunoassays and specific protein immunoblot confirmatory test.
       RESULTS: None of the volunteer blood donors and heroin addicts had
       detectable antibodies to HTLV-I/II. Only 1 (1.45%) of the 69 multiply
       transfused patients had indeterminate results, while 2 (1.2%) of 163
       hemodialysis patients were positive. CONCLUSION: In northwestern Greece,
       routine screening for HTLV-I and HTLV-II infections does not appear to
       be required. However, the finding of seropositivity among hemodialysis
       patients requires further evaluation of the origin of the infection, as
       its zero prevalence in this population seems to exclude transfusion
       transmission.
 DE    Adult  *Blood Donors  Blood Transfusion  Female  Greece  Human  HTLV-BLV
       Antibodies/*IMMUNOLOGY  HTLV-I/*IMMUNOLOGY  HTLV-I
       Infections/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  HTLV-II/*IMMUNOLOGY  HTLV-II
       Infections/*EPIDEMIOLOGY  Male  Substance Abuse/MICROBIOLOGY  JOURNAL
       ARTICLE

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