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Human T‐cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection and tropical spastic paraparesis in belgian expatriates

1992; Wiley; Volume: 36; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/jmv.1890360103

1096-9071

Patrick Goubau, H. Carton, P. Cornet, G. Vercauteren, Alfons Van Gompel, H. de Vooght, Peter Piot, Jan Desmyter,

Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology

Abstract A case of HTLV‐1 associated tropical spastic paraparesis is described in a Belgian nun who had been working as a midwife in Central Africa. Occupational exposure was the only risk factor identified. Among 2,482 Belgian expatriates in tropical countries, 92% of whom had resided in sub‐Saharan Africa for an average of 15.5 years, only one Belgian‐born man was found seropositive for HTLV‐1. He was married t o an African woman and living in Central Africa for 23 years. The risk of HTLV‐1 infection is low in Belgian expatriates and on its own does not support generalised anti‐HTLV screening in autochthonous Belgian blood donors.