A Study of Adult T‐Cell Leukemia Virus (ATLV) Infection in the Field of Obstetrics: Its Epidemiology, Vertical Transmission and Familial Clustering

Abstract

Nine hundred and seventy‐one healthy individuals in Iwate Prefecture, 659 pregnant women in Ishigaki Island, 487 pregnant women in Chiba Prefecture and 108 familial members of the ATLA‐Ab‐positive pregnant women (pregnant carrier women) were tested for ATLA‐Ab by the PA, EIA and WB tests. 1) The rate of agreement of EIA with the PA test was 88.4% and there were no false negative sera by both examinations. These results indicate the both tests are available for mass screening. 2) In Iwate and Chiba Prefectures, the ATLA‐Ab‐positive rates of pregnant women were 5.3 and 0.6%, respectively. In addition, the incidences for healthy individuals ranged from 5.3 to 21.1% by age in Iwate Prefecture. Thus, Iwate Prefecture was found to equal Ishigaki Island (7.1%) in ATLA‐Ab detection rates. 3) Forty‐five (41.7%) out of 108 familial members of 15 pregnant carrier women were found to be seropositive for ATLA‐Ab, which confirms a certain familial clustering of ATLV.