does anybody know HTLV-1 Virus?

Question

I have read that this virus cause leukemia?? is it right?? does anybody know what kind of virus is it?

Answer 1

The Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus, Type 1 (HTLV-1) infects the blood. It can cause cancer of the blood and diseases of the nervous system.

Is this a new virus?
No. It’s been found in Japan, the Caribbean, in Africa and in South and North America. This virus was first described in 1978.

How can I tell if I have HTLV-1?
You need to have a blood test. Most people who have this virus will never get sick from it. Only four per cent of those who are infected will ever get sick. If people do get sick from the virus the symptoms may involve a loss of strength in
the lower limbs, loss of bladder control, or cancer of the blood.

Should I get tested for HTLV-1?
Only those people who have had blood to blood contact or sexual intercourse with someone infected with HTLV-1 should ask to be tested.

How is the HTLV-1 virus spread?
HTLV-1 is spread from a person who has the virus to another by: ! Sexual contact. The virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex (sex without condoms) ! Mother to infant: Women who are infected with HTLV-1 may pass on the
virus to their babies at birth or through breastfeeding! Sharing needles and syringes or “rigs”

How can I protect myself against infection from HTLV-1?
The same precautions that everyone should take to protect against sexually transmitted infections apply to HTLV-1: ! Always use a condom every time you have sex. You should only use latex condoms because they work best at blocking the transfer of sexually transmitted infections. Condoms are available free of charge in all the health centers. ! Don’t share needles; if people share needles during tattooing or when using drugs, they can pass on the virus to each other.
HTLV-1 is not spread by ordinary, everyday household contacts such as kissing, using the toilet, or preparing food. In order for the virus to spread, there has to be blood-to-blood contact or unprotected sexual intercourse.

How can I protect my baby against infection from HTLV 1?
If you know you are free of the HTLV-1 virus then you don’t have to worry about transmitting the virus through reastfeeding. If you know you are positive for HTLV-1, you should discuss breastfeeding with your physician before your baby is born.

Is there a cure for HTLV-1 if I am infected?
At this time there is no known treatment for those who are infected. Scientists do not yet know of a way to get rid of the virus. But even if you are infected, you only have a small chance of developing symptoms.

Can I be infected with HTLV-1 from a blood transfusion?
It is extremely unlikely. Canadian Blood Services (previously the Red Cross) has been screening all blood donations for HTLV-1 since April 1990. Your risk is one in three million if you need a blood transfusion.-

Answer 2

What is HTLV-1
HTLV-1 is a virus that infects the white cells in the blood in humans. It can cause a disease of the nervous system and leukemia.
Is this a new disease
No. We've known about this disease for some time (first described in 1980). It has been identified throughout the world. It is more common in Japan, the Western Pacific, the Caribbean, West Africa and South America. It has also been found in a few British Columbians.

How can you tell if you have HTLV-1
About one in 20 people who get infected by HTLV-1 will eventually get sick with HTLV-1-associated illness in their lifetime, but often not until several decades after being infected. All the rest of the people carrying the virus do not get symptoms or develop any health problems from this virus.

People who get sick may develop a loss of strength in the lower limbs, loss of bladder control, or develop leukemia.

There is a blood test for HTLV-1 that you can get through your doctor.

How is the virus spread
HTLV-1 is spread from an infected person to another by:

Sharing needles, syringes or "rigs" or other equipment used for injecting drugs;
Sexual contact. Evidence suggests that the virus is more easily transmitted from men to women than from women to men; especially from middle age on;
Mother to child. About one quarter of mothers who are infected with HTLV-1 may transmit the virus to their babies at birth or through breastfeeding, especially if they breastfeed for 6 months or more.

Answer 3

Heard about it, also had a brother who died from it.

Answer 4

HTVL-1 is a species of Human T-lymphotropic virus. HTLV-1 stands for Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus. It is a retrovirus, in the same class of virus as the AIDS virus, HIV-1. HTLV-I is associated with a rare form of blood dsycrasia known as Adult T-cell Leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and a myelopathy, tropical spastic paresis. However, even with infection, fewer than 4% of seropositive persons will experience overt associated disease.

Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is a human, single-stranded RNA retrovirus that causes T-cell leukemia and T-cell lymphoma in adults and may also be involved in certain demyelinating diseases, including tropical spastic paraparesis. Adult T-lymphotropic virus (ATLV) is a strain of this disease that affects primarily adults. A closely related virus is bovine leukemia virus BLV.


[edit] HTLV-I
HTLV-I is an abbreviation for the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, also called the Adult T-cell lymphoma virus type 1, a virus that has been seriously implicated in several kinds of diseases including HTLV-I-associated myelopathy, Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-infection, and a virus cancer link for leukemia (see adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma). Between one in twenty and one in twenty-five infected persons are thought to develop cancer as a result of the virus.

HTLV was discovered in 1977 in Japan. The virus was first isolated by Drs. Bernard Poiesz and Francis Ruscetti and their co-workers in the laboratory of Robert C. Gallo at the NCI.[1] It was the first identified human retrovirus.

Infection with HTLV-I, like infection with other retroviruses, probably occurs for life and can be inferred when antibody against HTLV-1 is detected in the serum.


[edit] Prevalence
HTLV-I infection in the United States appears to be about half as prevalent as HIV infection among IV drug users and about one-tenth as prevalent in the population at large. Although little serologic data exist, prevalence of infection is thought to be highest among blacks living in the Southeast. A prevalence rate of 30% has been found among black intravenous drug abusers in New Jersey, and a rate of 49% has been found in a similar group in New Orleans.[2] It is possible that prevalence of infection is increasing in this risk group.

HTLV-I infection in Australia is very high among the Indigenous peoples of central and northern Australia, with a prevalence rate of 10-30%. It is also high among the Inuit people of Northern Canada.[1]

Studies of HTLV-I antibody indicate that the virus is endemic in southern Japan, in Peru, in the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador, in the Caribbean, and in Africa.


[edit] Transmission
Transmission of HTLV-I is believed to occur from mother to child; by sexual contact; and through exposure to contaminated blood, either through blood transfusion or sharing of contaminated needles. The importance of the various routes of transmission is believed to vary geographically.

In Japan, the geographic clustering of infection and the rarity of unprotected sexual contact suggest that the virus is more dependent on mother-to-child transmission.[3]
In the Caribbean, the geographic distribution of the virus is more uniform, and it is more common among those with many sexual partners, indicating that sexual transmission is more common.[4]

[edit] Opportunistic infections
Individuals infected with HTLV-1 are at risk for opportunistic infections, diseases not caused by the virus itself, but by alterations in the host's immune functions.


[edit] Mechanism
HTLV-1, unlike the distantly related retrovirus HIV, has an immunostimulating effect, which, however, turns out to be immunosuppressive. The virus activates a subset of T-helper cells called Th1 cells. The result is a proliferation of Th1 cells and overproduction of Th1 related cytokines (mainly IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha). Feedback mechanisms of these cytokines cause a suppression of the Th2 lymphocytes and a reduction of Th2 cytokine production (maily IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and IL-13). The end result is a reduction in the ability of the infected host to mount an adequate immune response to invading organisms that require a predominantly Th2 dependant response (these include parasitic infections and production of mucosal and humoral antibodies).


[edit] Examples
In the central Australian Aboriginal population, HTLV-1 is thought to be related to their extremely high rate of death from sepsis.

It is particularly associated with bronchiectasis, a chronic lung condition predisposing to recurrent pneumonia.

It is also associated with chronic infected dermatitis, often superinfected with Staphylococcus aureus and a severe form of Strongyloides stercoralis infection called hyper-infection which may lead to death from polymicrobial sepsis.

HTLV-1 is also associated with adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma, and has been quite well studied in Japan. The time between infection and onset of cancer also varies geographically. It is believed to be about sixty years in Japan, and less than forty years in the Caribbean. The cancer is thought to be due to the pro-oncogenic effect of viral DNA incorporated into host lymphocyte DNA, and chronic stimulation of the lyphocytes at the cytokine level may play a role in development of malignancy. The malignancy ranges from a very indolent and slowly progressive lymphoma to a very aggressive and nearly uniformaly lethal proliferative lymphoma. Treatment varies depending on the type of disease and varies from careful observation to aggressive chemotherapy and antiretroviral agents.

HTLV-1 is also associated with a progressive demyelinating upper motor neurone disease known as HAM/TSP for HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paparparesis characterized by sesory and motor defecits, particularily of the lower extremeties, incontinence and impotence. Less that 2% of infected individuals develop HAM/TSP, but this will vary dramatically from one geographic location to another.


[edit] HTLV-II
A virus closely related to HTLV-I, HTLV-II shares approximately 70% genomic homology (structural similarity) with HTLV-I.

It is found predominantly in IV drug users and Native Americans, as well as Caribbean and South American Indian groups.

HTLV-II has not been clearly linked to any disease, but has been associated with several cases of myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP)- like neurological disease.


[edit] HTLV-III and HTLV-IV
The terms "HTLV-III" and "HTLV-IV" have been used to describe recently characterized viruses.[5][6]

These viruses were discovered in 2005 in rural Cameroon, and were apparently transmitted from monkeys to hunters of monkeys through bites and scratches. HTLV-III is similar to STLV-III (Simian T-lymphotropic virus 3), but HTLV-IV does not resemble any known virus. It is not yet known how much further transmission has occurred among humans, or whether the viruses can cause disease.

The use of these names can cause some confusion, because the name HTLV-III was the former name of HIV in early AIDS literature, but has since fallen out of use.[7]. Also, the name HTLV-IV has been used to describe HIV-2.[8]

Sources: en.wikipedia.org and thedoctorsdoctor.com


Hope that answer your question!