HTLV-I/HTLV-II infection
Last updated: Monday, 13, December, 2010
| Key Information | Appropriate Tests |
|---|---|
| HTLV-I/II antibodies with confirmation of positive results by western blot. | |
| Transmission | |
Mother to child | |
Sexual | See Sexually transmitted diseases |
Intravenous drug use | |
Blood products | Routine HTLV-I/II antibody testing of blood, semen and tissue donors. See Blood transfusion |
| Associated disease | |
| HTLV-I | |
Adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma | FBC; calcium; bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy with immunophenotyping, molecular genetics. Skin biopsy of affected area. |
Tropical spastic paraparesis | |
HTLV-I associated myelopathy | CSF examination may be normal or show slight protein elevation with increased mononuclear cells. |
Chronic progressive myelopathy | |
| HTLV-II | |
Occasional cases of spastic paraparesis and myelopathy have been associated with HTLV-II infection. |