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Absence of HTLV I from New Zealand
Author(s) -
Reddy D.,
Okochi K.,
Woodfield D. G.,
Judd W.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890220410
Subject(s) - virology , virus , antibody , indigenous , pacific islanders , antigen , biology , human t lymphotropic virus 1 , viral disease , deltaretrovirus , immunology , medicine , environmental health , t cell leukemia , ecology , population
Sera from 1,943 individuals from Auckland, New Zealand, were tested for the presence of serum antibodies to human T cell lymphotropic virus I (HTLV I), mainly with an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with cell extracts as target antigen. The individuals tested were blood donors and mostly Caucasian, but included indigenous Maoris and representatives of several groups of Pacific islanders now resident in New Zealand. Also included were 37 patients with various hematological malignancies including seven with T cell leukemias. Although 1% of samples were positive by ELISA, none of these were confirmed as positives by Western blotting. On the basis of these results we consider that it is unlikely that HTLV I infection occurs in Auckland; however, we cannot exclude the possibility that pockets of virus infection may occur in other parts of New Zealand or the South Pacific.