Geographical Distribution of Subjects Seropositive for Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 in Papua New Guinea |
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| Authors: | Joko Imai Shin-ichi Terashi Tom Talonu Haruko Komoda Tukutau Taufa George T. Nurse Diro Babona Koichi Yamaguchi Hiroaki Nakashima Koh-ichi Ishikawa Meiko Kawamura Masanori Hayami |
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| Affiliation: | Research Center for Immunodeficiency Virus, Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606;Research Center for the South Pacific, Kagoshima University, Usukicho, Kagoshima 890;Faculty of Medicine, University of Papua New Guinea, P. O. Box 5623, Boroko;Red Cross Blood Transfusion Center, Port Moresby General Hospital, P. O. Box 1174, Boroko;Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Usukicho, Kagoshima 890;Yamanashi Institute for Public Health, Kofu, Yamanashi 400 |
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| Abstract: | Of 1471 sera collected from 1986 to 1989 in Papua New Guinea (PNG), 2.2% were found to be positive for anti-HTLV-1 antibody by successive particle agglutination and immunofluorescence tests. The seropositive rate varied in different provinces and was higher in the coastal areas of the main island and in neighboring small islands than in the highlands of PNG. The frequency of HTLV-1 infection of children was higher, but the age-dependent increase in antibody positivity, generally observed in other HTLV-1 endemic areas of the world, was not clear in PNG. No difference was observed in antibody prevalence in males and females in this study. |
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| Keywords: | HTLV-1 Seroepidemiology Papua New Guinea |
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