What is human T-cell lymphotropic virus symptoms?
Initial symptoms are subtle and include gait problems, unexplained falls, low back pain, constipation, urinary urgency/incontinence and numbness or pain in the lower limbs. Over the years, progressive leg weakness ensues followed by the exacerbation of the urinary and sensory symptoms.
What does a positive HTLV test mean?
A positive HTLV-I/II molecular test indicates that the person tested has an HTLV-I or HTLV-II infection. If the molecular result is negative, then the person is less likely to be infected, but it cannot be ruled out as the amount of virus in the blood may have been too low to detect at the time of the test.
Can HTLV be cured?
There is no cure or treatment for HTLV-1 and it is considered a lifelong condition; however, most (95%) infected people remain asymptomatic (show no symptoms) throughout life.
How is HTLV transmitted?
The virus can cause a type of cancer called adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATL). HTLV-1 is transmitted primarily through infected bodily fluids including blood, breast milk and semen. Risk factors include unprotected sex, injecting drug use and transplantation of tissue, blood and blood products.
Is HTLV asymptomatic?
Most HTLV-I infected individuals remain lifelong asymptomatic carriers, while 2-5% may develop adult T-cell leukemia/ATL and 0.25-3.8% may develop HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) 4 .
What kind of cancer does human T-lymphotropic virus cause?
The human T-lymphotropic virus, human T-cell lymphotropic virus, or human T-cell leukemia-lymphoma virus (HTLV) family of viruses are a group of human retroviruses that are known to cause a type of cancer called adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and a demyelinating disease called HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis .
Can you get T-lymphotropic virus 2 ( htlv2 )?
Human T- leukemia, type 2 (HTLV-2) is usually diagnosed based on blood tests that detect to the virus. However, HTLV-2 is often never suspected or diagnosed since most people never develop any signs or symptoms of the infection.
Which is the first virus to transform human lymphocytes?
HTLV types HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 viruses are the first retroviruses which were discovered. Both belong to the oncovirus subfamily of retroviruses and can transform human lymphocytes so that they are self-sustaining in vitro. The HTLVs are believed to originate from intraspecies transmission of STLVs.
How is ATL different from other lymphomas?
The symptoms of ATL were different from other lymphomas known at the time. It was suggested that ATL is caused by the infection of a retrovirus called ATLV. Strikingly, ATLV had the transforming activity in vitro. These studies established that the retrovirus infection is the cause of ATL.