Type-I and type-III HTLV antibodies in hospitalized and out-patient Zairians.

Sera from 182 Zairians (99 females and 83 males), aged 5 to 71 years, including maternity and child care consultants, out-patients suffering from minor injuries and patients hospitalized for tuberculosis, malaria or trauma, were analyzed for specific antibodies to HTLV-I and HTLV-III. Following pre-screening by the ELISA technique, reactive sera were further analyzed for specificity to HTLV-I or HTLV-III antigens by competition and/or Western blotting experiments. African sera, possibly because they have higher immunoglobulin levels than US and European sera, are highly reactive in ELISA systems and confirmatory assays are essential to rule out false-positive results.

Comparative seroepidemiology of HTLV-I and HTLV-III in the French West Indies and some African countries.

The prevalence of antibodies detected by ELISA against human T-lymphotropic viruses, type I (HTLV-I) and type III (HTLV-III-LAV), is described in a comparative serosurvey in the French West Indies and African countries. The data confirm that the Caribbean basin is endemic for HTLV-I. In this region, HTLV-I antibody prevalence varied from 3.