HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 Infection Among Warao Indigenous Refugees in the Brazilian Amazon: Challenges for Public Health in Times of Increasing Migration

Frontiers in Public Health

article

Isabella Nogueira Abreu¹  Felipe Teixeira Lopes¹  Carlos Neandro Cordeiro Lima¹  Alexandre do Nascimento Barbosa²  Lehi Rodrigues de Oliveira²  Mayumi Aragão Fujishima²  Felipe Bonfim Freitas³  Mike Barbosa dos Santos¹  Vitor Nina de Lima⁴  Izaura M. V. Cayres-Vallinoto¹  Socorro Castelo-Branco²  Hilton P. da Silva⁵  Antonio Carlos R. Vallinoto¹ 

[1] Laboratório de Virologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará;Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Pará;Seção de Virologia, Instituto Evandro Chagas;Secretaria de Saúde do Município de Belém;Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia e Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde, Ambiente e Sociedade na Amazônia, Universidade Federal do Pará

关键词: migration;    Warao;    Venezuelans;    Amazon;    public health;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2022.833169

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Introduction Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection is endemic in indigenous populations of the Americas. We describe herein the prevalence of HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 infection among Warao indigenous refugees from Venezuela living in Belém, Pará, Brazil. Methods In total, 101 individuals of both sexes (43 men and 58 women) between 18 and 77 years of age were investigated. Blood samples were collected and separated into plasma and leukocytes. Serological screening was performed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Murex HTLV-I+II, DiaSorin, Dartford, UK), and seropositive samples were submitted to proviral DNA extraction followed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). A nested PCR of the env region (630 bp) followed by enzymatic digestion with Xho I was performed to identify the molecular subtype of HTLV-2, in addition to sequencing analysis of the 5'LTR-I and 5′-LTR-II regions. Results Of the 101 individuals analyzed, 3 (3.0%) were seropositive. Molecular analysis of the pol and tax genes confirmed the HTLV-1 infection in a 55-year-old woman and HTLV-2 infection in a man (68 years old) and a woman (23 years old). HTLV-2 strains were defined by enzymatic digestion as belonging to the HTLV-2b subtype. The sequencing of the 5′LTR regions confirmed the presence of subtype 2b and identified HTLV-1 as belonging to subtype 1A (Cosmopolitan) and the Transcontinental subgroup. Among the infected patients, it was possible to conduct medical interviews with two individuals after delivery of the result. One patient with HTLV-2 reported symptoms such as joint pain, foot swelling, frequent headache, dizziness and lower back pain. The HTLV-1-positive woman was diagnosed with a tumor, dementia, urinary incontinence, felt body pain, and had spots on her body. The presence of the HTLV-2b subtype highlights the prevalence of this molecular variant among indigenous South Americans, as well as the presence of HTLV-1 Transcontinental, which has a worldwide distribution. Conclusion These results reveal a high prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection among Warao immigrants, suggesting migratory flow as a virus spread mechanism among human populations and alert public authorities to the need to create epidemiological surveillance programs, public social and health policies aimed at welcoming immigrants in the Brazilian territory.

【 授权许可】

CC BY