Abstract
Three hundred seventy-seven prostitutes from Kinshasa, Zaire, were enrolled in a study to determine associated risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection. Twelve samples (3.2%) were seropositive for HTLV-I; results for HIV-1 (101 [26.8%]) are reported elsewhere. HTLV-I prevalence increased with age, and seven of the seropositive women originated from the Equateur region, a remote area in northwestern Zaire. The prevalence among women from Equateur (7.2%) was higher than that of women from all other regions (1.8%, P =. 02). Presence of HTLV-I antibodies was not associated with frequency or type of sex practice. In a subsequent study, 350 serum samples were obtained from a variety of subjects in the Equateur region in 1986. Nineteen (5.4%) showed antibodies to HTLV-I. These data and a recent report of a cluster of patients with tropical spastic paraparesis from this region suggest that HTLV-I is endemic in the Equateur region of Zaire
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Infectious Diseases |
| Volume | 161 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1073-1077 |
| ISSN | 0022-1899 |
| Publication status | Published - 1990 |
Keywords
- B780-tropical-medicine
- Viral diseases
- HTLV-1
- Prostitutes
- Tropical spastic paraparesis
- HIV-1
- Prevalence
- Congo-Kinshasa
- Africa-Central