查看文章

Human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is associated with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and with a chronic degenerative myelopathy. However, another major type of HTLV, HTLV-II, has been isolated only sporadically, and little is known of disease associations, transmission routes, and risk factors for HTLV-II infection. Recent studies indicate that a high percentage of certain groups of i.v. drug users and blood donors are infected with HTLV-II. Seroepidemiologic studies have found an elevated rate of seroreactivity to HTLV among Guaymi Indians from Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. To identify the cause of seroreactivity among this unique population we used HTLV-II-specific polymerase chain reaction techniques to detect HTLV genetic sequences from blood leukocytes of three seropositive Guaymi Indians. The HTLV-II primer-amplified polymerase chain reaction products from two of these subjects were …