Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
1986-1-14
pubmed:abstractText
Sera of native inhabitants of Arctic regions were assayed for antibodies to HTLV-I by the ELISA technique followed by competition experiments to confirm antibody specificity. Residents of 7 widely separated Alaskan villages exhibited prevalence rates of 0 to 12% for HTLV-I antibodies. Less than 1% of Greenland Eskimos were HTLV-I antibody-positive. Residents of 3 northern Swedish regions ranged in HTLV-I antibody prevalence from 0 to 5%. Sera of healthy native inhabitants of Alaska and northern Sweden were similarly assayed for antibodies to HTLV-II. No additional sera were shown to be positive for HTLV-II antibodies. While some of the HTLV-I antibody-positive sera exhibited cross-reactivity with HTLV-II antigens, competition experiments using disrupted HTLV-II or purified HTLV-I p24 as test antigens indicated that the primary antibody response in all cases tested was elicited by HTLV-I. Our results show that HTLV-I distribution is not restricted to endemic areas in warm, humid climates, but extends to Arctic regions. Within these regions, HTLV-I exhibits the same restricted distribution seen in other areas where virus infection is prevalent. The Arctic does not seem to be a reservoir for HTLV-II infection. The origin of HTLV-I in Arctic areas is not known. One may speculate that foreign visitors introduced the virus into Aleut and Lapp populations, and that it has been maintained there and restricted in its distribution as a result of close familial relationships.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0020-7136
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
36
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
651-5
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-7-24
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1985
pubmed:articleTitle
Prevalence of HTLV-I in Arctic regions.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article