High prevalence of human T-cell leukemia virus type-1b genotype among blood donors in Gabon, Central Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The African continent is considered to be the largest endemic area of HTLV-1 infection, with at least several million infected individuals. Systematic screening of blood donors can prevent the transmission of HTLV-1 in blood. Gabon is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of HTLV-1 worldwide, and yet the routine testing of blood donors has still not been introduced.

Methods

All blood donations collected between April and July 2017 at the Centre National de Transfusion Sanguine of Gabon were studied. Plasma samples were screened by ELISA for the presence of HTLV-1/2 antibodies. Western blot (WB) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were used for confirmation.

Results

In total, 3123 blood donors were tested, including 1740 repeat and 1378 firs

SUBMITTER: Ramassamy JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7496943 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature