Open AccessBlocking HTLV-1/2 silent transmission in Brazil: Current public health policies and proposal for additional strategies
Author(s) -
Carolina Rosadas,
Maria Luiza Bezerra Menezes,
Bernardo Galvão–Castro,
Tatiane Assone,
Angélica Espinosa Miranda,
Mayra Gonçalves Aragón,
Adele Caterino-de-Araújo,
Graham P. Taylor,
Ricardo Ishak
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009717
Subject(s) - transmission (telecommunications) , public health , blocking (statistics) , virology , medicine , narrative , public health policy , environmental health , economic growth , health policy , telecommunications , computer science , nursing , economics , linguistics , philosophy , computer network
Human T-cell lymphotropic viruses 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) are relatively common in Brazil but remain silent and neglected infections. HTLV-1 is associated with a range of diseases with high morbidity and mortality. There is no curative treatment for this lifelong infection, so measures to prevent transmission are essential. This narrative review discusses HTLV-1/2 transmission routes and measures to prevent its continuous dissemination. The public health policies that are currently implemented in Brazil to avoid HTLV-1/2 transmission are addressed, and further strategies are proposed.