Human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) among female prostitutes in Kinshasa, Zaire

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.