Isolation of HTLV-I from Members of a Remote Tribe in New Guinea

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Abstract
Controversy has surrounded the question of HTLV-I (human T-cell lymphotropic virus Type I) infection and disease in Melanesia.1 2 3 We have identified a case of HTLV-I myeloneuropathy in a lifelong resident of the Solomon Islands,4 and we have demonstrated a seroprevalence of HTLV-I of 14 percent, verified by stringent criteria for Western immunoblotting, among the Hagahai, a remote, recently contacted small group of hunter-horticulturalists living along the northern banks of the Yuat River Gorge in Madang Province, Papua New Guinea.5 We now report on the isolation of HTLV-I from the Hagahai.