Recent Spread of Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type II among Injecting Drug Users in Spain

The recent report by Zehender et al. [1] will contribute to speculation and controversy regarding the potential pathogenicity of human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type II, especially in light of recent reports [2-4] of myeloneuropathies resembling those classically associated with HTLV-I infection....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1996-10, Vol.174 (4), p.891-891
Main Authors: Soriano, Vicente, Gutierrez, Maite, Merino, Fernando, Dronda, Fernando, Esparza, Beatriz, Tuset, Concepcion
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIDS
Antibodies
Blood donation
Correspondence
Epidemiology
HIV 1
HTLV II infections
Human T lymphotropic virus 2
Infections
Non Hodgkin lymphoma
Viruses
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Summary:The recent report by Zehender et al. [1] will contribute to speculation and controversy regarding the potential pathogenicity of human T lymphotropic virus (HTLV) type II, especially in light of recent reports [2-4] of myeloneuropathies resembling those classically associated with HTLV-I infection. The striking association the authors found in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected subjects between the presence of peripheral neuropathy, predominantly sensory polyneuropathy, and antibodies to HTLV-II (29.8% of cases) should be examined cautiously since up to 8.3% of their control population (HIV-positive subjects without peripheral neuropathy) also were infected with HTLV-II. As the authors noted, most of their patients were injecting drug users (IDUs), and unusually high rates of HTLV-II infection seem to be a characteristic finding among IDUs in the Milan, Italy, area. This association is not seen among IDUs from other regions. Northern Italy was one of the first places in Europe where intravenous drug use became popular in the early 1970s. We speculate that long-term infection with HTLV-II in subjects later exposed to HIV-1 (which reached the region one decade later) could explain the distinct features observed among north Italian HTLV-II carriers. In summary, neurologic and lymphoproliferative disorders were seen more frequently in northern Italy among HTLV-II carriers than in Spain. This finding may reflect the long incubation period needed for the virus to produce clinical manifestations, which may be potentiated in those later coinfected with HIV.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/174.4.891