Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.

Infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype C is endemic among Aboriginal people in central Australia. To provide insights into the risk factors for transmission, we conducted the first large-scale, community-based prevalence study in seven remote Aboriginal communities....

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Main Authors: Lloyd Einsiedel, Hai Pham, Mohammad Radwanur Talukder, Kerry Taylor, Kim Wilson, John Kaldor, Antoine Gessain, Richard Woodman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-12-01
Series:PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009915&type=printable
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author Lloyd Einsiedel
Hai Pham
Mohammad Radwanur Talukder
Kerry Taylor
Kim Wilson
John Kaldor
Antoine Gessain
Richard Woodman
author_facet Lloyd Einsiedel
Hai Pham
Mohammad Radwanur Talukder
Kerry Taylor
Kim Wilson
John Kaldor
Antoine Gessain
Richard Woodman
author_sort Lloyd Einsiedel
collection DOAJ
description Infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype C is endemic among Aboriginal people in central Australia. To provide insights into the risk factors for transmission, we conducted the first large-scale, community-based prevalence study in seven remote Aboriginal communities. Residents >2 years old were invited to participate in the study between August 2014 and June 2018. HTLV-1 infection was defined as a positive western blot (WB) test or a positive HTLV-1 PCR. 720 community residents participated in the study (children <15 years, 142; adults, 578). Prevalences for children and adults were 3.5% (5/142) and 36.8% (213/578), respectively, reaching 49.3% (106/215) for those older than 45 years. A wide range of proviral loads were measured for both asymptomatic and symptomatic participants with no difference within groups according to age or gender; however, median PVL was 1.34 log10 higher for symptomatic participants. The adult prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in central Australia is the highest reported worldwide. Sexual contact is likely to be the predominant mode of transmission.
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institution DOAJ
issn 1935-2727
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language English
publishDate 2021-12-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
spelling doaj-art-5938c5409d1f47558fb6803d6eb9cf8c2025-08-20T03:15:48ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases1935-27271935-27352021-12-011512e000991510.1371/journal.pntd.0009915Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.Lloyd EinsiedelHai PhamMohammad Radwanur TalukderKerry TaylorKim WilsonJohn KaldorAntoine GessainRichard WoodmanInfection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype C is endemic among Aboriginal people in central Australia. To provide insights into the risk factors for transmission, we conducted the first large-scale, community-based prevalence study in seven remote Aboriginal communities. Residents >2 years old were invited to participate in the study between August 2014 and June 2018. HTLV-1 infection was defined as a positive western blot (WB) test or a positive HTLV-1 PCR. 720 community residents participated in the study (children <15 years, 142; adults, 578). Prevalences for children and adults were 3.5% (5/142) and 36.8% (213/578), respectively, reaching 49.3% (106/215) for those older than 45 years. A wide range of proviral loads were measured for both asymptomatic and symptomatic participants with no difference within groups according to age or gender; however, median PVL was 1.34 log10 higher for symptomatic participants. The adult prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in central Australia is the highest reported worldwide. Sexual contact is likely to be the predominant mode of transmission.https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009915&type=printable
spellingShingle Lloyd Einsiedel
Hai Pham
Mohammad Radwanur Talukder
Kerry Taylor
Kim Wilson
John Kaldor
Antoine Gessain
Richard Woodman
Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
title Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
title_full Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
title_fullStr Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
title_full_unstemmed Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
title_short Very high prevalence of infection with the human T cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: Results of a large cross-sectional community survey.
title_sort very high prevalence of infection with the human t cell leukaemia virus type 1c in remote australian aboriginal communities results of a large cross sectional community survey
url https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0009915&type=printable
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