HUMAN T CELL LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUS

Course overview

HUMAN T CELL LYMPHOTROPIC VIRUSES (HTLV) ARE A FAMILY OF RETROVIRUSES. CURRENTLY, FOUR TYPES OF THIS VIRUS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED WHICH ARE KNOWN TO INFECT HUMANS WITH A PATHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCE: HTLV-1, HTLV-2, HTLV-3, AND HTLV-4. THESE VIRUSES ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR ONCOGENIC POTENTIAL AS WELL AS ETIOLOGY IN OTHER DISEASE PROCESSES. ALTHOUGH A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER WHO BECOME INFECTED WITH THESE VIRUSES WILL REMAIN ASYMPTOMATIC, A SMALL PROPORTION MAY DEVELOP MALIGNANT, INFLAMMATORY, OR OPPORTUNISTIC DISEASES. THIS ARTICLE WILL FOCUS PRIMARILY ON HTLV-1 GIVEN THAT THIS IS THE MOST CLINICALLY RELEVANT AND WELL-STUDIED OF THE FOUR VIRUSES. HTLV-1 IS ENDEMIC THROUGHOUT THE WORLD HOWEVER HIGH INFECTION RATES ARE NOW EMERGING IN INTRAVENOUS DRUG USERS IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HTLV-1, HIGHLIGHTS THE POTENTIAL SECONDARY DISEASES CAUSED BY THIS ONCOVIRUS, AND CONSIDERS POSSIBLE TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR BOTH THE VIRUS AND THESE CONDITIONS. IT ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN EVALUATING AND TREATING PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM THIS INFECTION.