Prevalence of antibody to human T cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus in women attending antenatal clinic in southeast London: retrospective study

Infection with human T cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) type I occurs mainly in Japan, central and west Africa, and the Caribbean basin. Infection confers a lifetime risk of 2-4% for adult T cell leukaemia or lymphoma and 0.2-5% for tropical spastic paraparesis. However, the incubation period for these conditions after naturally acquired infection may be several decades.1 The virus is transmitted via infected lymphocytes, and in areas of high prevalence breast feeding is an important route of transmission, particularly if continued for over six months.2 We determined the prevalence of HTLV antibody in women who had attended antenatal clinics at King's Healthcare NHS Trust, southeast London, to assess whether antenatal screening should be considered locally. With the approval of the local ethics committee, we tested sera that had been collected routinely at antenatal clinics between January 1994 and December 1996 for HTLV antibody. The samples were anonymised for patient's name and …