Prevalence of anti-HTLV-I & anti-HTLV-II antibodies in Blood donors in Bushehr Province

Abstract

Human T-cll leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-I) and HTLV-II are type C oncoviruses, members of the family Retroviridae. Blood transfusion is a transmission route. Screening for HTLV is routine in Khorasan Province/Iran. In a seroepidemiologic survey in Bushehr Province, 22074 blood units were screened for anti-HTLV-I & ani-HTLV-II antibodies using ELISA method. Only 3 of donors (0.013%) were positive for anti-HTLV-I these results were confirmed by western blot. Therefore, routine screening for anti-HTLV antibodies are not justifiable in blood transfusion centers in Bushehr Province.

Keywords

• HTLV-I
• HTLV-II
• blood transfusion
• retroviridae