Influence of human T cell lymphotropic virus type 2 coinfection on virological and immunological parameters in HIV type 1-infected patients.

Background: Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 2 (HTLV-2) infection is not rare among injection drug users with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and may exert a protective role in the progression of HIV disease.

Methods: Immunological and virological parameters were compared in HIV-HTLV-2-coinfected patients and a control group of HIV-monoinfected subjects. All individuals were antiretroviral therapy naive.

Can the level of immunosuppression in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients affect the reliability of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 2 serological diagnosis?

A total of 175 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive intravenous drug users (IDU) with CD4 cell counts of <200 cells/microl were matched with 175 HIV-positive IDU with CD4 cell counts of >500 cells/microl. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) reactivity and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 2 (HTLV-2) Western blot (WB) positivity were more frequently observed in subjects with CD4 cell counts of >500 cells/microl. Most of the subjects with low CD4 cell counts and EIA reactivity carried HTLV-2 infection (WB positive and/or PCR positive).

Infection with human T lymphotropic virus type I in organ transplant donors and recipients in Spain.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) antibody screening is not recommended uniformly before transplantation in Western countries. In the year 2001, the first cases of HTLV-I infection acquired through organ transplantation from one asymptomatic carrier were reported in Europe. All three organ recipients developed a subacute myelopathy shortly after transplantation.

Molecular epidemiology of HTLV-2 infection among intravenous drug users in Spain.

Background: HTLV-2 infection is prevalent among intravenous drug users (IDUs), which often are coinfected with HIV-1. Two main subtypes, HTLV-2a and -2b, have been described among European IDUs, with a characteristically geographic distribution: IIa in northern Europe and IIb in the south. Although frequent traveling within Europe might have favoured a wide dissemination of diverse HTLV-2 variants, HTLV-2b was so far the only subtype reported in Spain.

Differences in disease progression in a cohort of long-term non-progressors after more than 16 years of HIV-1 infection.

Background: It is unclear whether resistance to immunologic damage in long-term non-progressors (LTNP) will last indefinitely or whether it merely represents the extreme of a Gaussian distribution, and therefore progression will occur eventually.

Patients And Methods: A cohort of 19 LTNP was established in 1997. Plasma viraemia and CD4 cell counts were measured two to three times each year until 2003.

[Rate of infection by blood-borne viruses in active heroin users in 3 Spanish cities].

Background And Objective: The objective of this paper was to determine the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infections in active heroin users in Spain.

Subjects And Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 440 heroin users in three different urban areas of Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, and Seville. Specimens were analyzed for the presence of anti-HIV, anti-HCV, anti-HBc, and anti-HTLV antibodies.

[HIV-2 and HTLV-I/II infections in Spain].

Up to December 2002, a total of 56, 566 and 109 cases of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-I), HTLV-II and human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) infection, respectively, were identified in Spain. Most HTLV-I- and HIV-2-infected subjects were immigrants from endemic areas or Spaniards who had traveled to, or had sexual contacts with natives from, these areas. In contrast, HTLV-II infection was mainly limited to Spanish intravenous drug users (IDU) who were frequently coinfected with HIV-1.