Epidemiological and molecular profile of blood donors infected with HTLV-1/2 in the state of Pará, northern Brazil.

Background: The Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is a retrovirus of the genus Deltaretrovirus, which belongs to the family Retroviridae. The most important types are HTLV-1 and HTLV-2. It is estimated that between five and 10 million individuals are infected with HTLV-1, worldwide.