Prevalence of antibody to adult T-cell leukemia virus-associated antigens (ATLA) in Japanese monkeys and other non-human primates

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Abstract
The prevalence of adult T‐cell‐leukemia virus (ATLV) infection was examined in Japanese monkeys living naturally in various parts of Japan and in other species of non‐human primates imported into and kept in Japan. Sera of 2,650 Japanese monkeys from 41 troops throughout Japan were tested. High incidences of anti‐ATLV‐associated antigen (ATLA)‐positive monkeys were found in most troops, not only in the endemic area of human ATL(Southwestern Japan), but also in non‐endemic areas. The incidence of sero‐positive individuals increased gradually with age, reaching a maximum when the animals became adult, indicating age dependency, like that found by epidemiological studies on humans. Anti‐ATLA antibodies were also detected in 90 of 815 sera of imported non‐human primates of 33 species other than Japanese monkeys. All the anti‐ATLA sero‐positive monkeys were Catarrhines (Old World monkeys), mainly macaques of Asian origin. Some sero‐positive monkeys were also found among animnals of African origin, but no antibody was detected in Prosimians and Platyrrhines (New World monkeys). The clear‐cut difference between the geographical distribution of seropositive simians and that of humans indicates the improbability of direct transmission of ATLV from simians to humans.