HTLV-1 Infection is Rising Up in Spain Whereas HTLV-2 is Vanishing
Carmen de Mendoza 1, Vicente Soriano 2
1 Puerta de Hierro University Hospital, Madrid, Spain; 2 UNIR Health Sciences School and Medical Center, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Madrid, Spain
*Correspondence: Carmen de Mendoza, Email not available
Abstract
Infection with human retroviruses is responsible for global epidemics and significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The current global estimates of infected people are 38 million for HIV-1, 1-2 million for HIV-2, 10 million for human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and 3 million for HTLV-2. Although HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 do not cause AIDS, infection with HTLV-1 has been associated with the development of subacute myelopathy and T-cell lymphomas in nearly 10% of carriers lifelong (Pasquier et al., Front Microbiol 2018; 9: 278). In contrast, HTLV-2 infection is generally asymptomatic although occasionally, it may cause neurological syndromes resembling HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM)/tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP)
