The Burden of Neglected HIV-2 and HTLV-1 Infections in Spain
Ana Treviño , Estrella Caballero 1, Carmen de Mendoza 2, Antonio Aguilera 3, María Pirón 4, Vicente Soriano 5, on behalf of The Spanish HIV-2/HTLV Study Group 4
1 Department of Microbiology, Hospital Vall dHebrón, Barcelona, Spain; 2 Puerta de Hierro University Hospital, Madrid, Spain; 3 Microbiology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario Santiago (CHUS) & University of Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; 4 NULL; 5 UNIR Health Sciences School and Medical Center, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Madrid, Spain
*Correspondence: Ana Treviño, Email not available
Abstract
HIV-2 and HTLV-1 infections are globally less frequent than those produced by HIV-1, the classical AIDS agent. In Spain and up to the end of 2014, a total of 310 cases of HIV-2, 274 of HTLV-1, and 776 of HTLV-2 infections had been reported. No cases of HTLV-3 or HTLV-4 infections have been identified so far in Spain. Most persons infected with HIV-2 or HTLV-1 acknowledge epidemiological risk factors for contagion, such as originating from or living in endemic regions and/or having had sexual partners from those areas. However, risk factors could not be recognized in up to 20-25% of carriers in Spain. Thus, it seems worth keeping a high level of clinical suspicion in order to identify earlier these neglected human retroviral infections, since diagnostic procedures and antiviral treatment are specific for each of these agents. In this article we summarize the major contributions reported at the meeting of the Spanish Group for HIV-2/HTLV held in Madrid in December 2014.
