Seroepidemiologic Study of Adult T-Cell Leukemia Virus (ATLV) and Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Okinawa, Japan

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Abstract
A total of 2,283 serum samples were collected from healthy subjects in three islands of the Yaeyama district of Okinawa, Japan. These sera were tested for the presence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc), and for antibody to adult T‐cell leukemia‐associated antigen (anti‐ATLA). Correlation between hepatitis B virus infection and adult T‐cell leukemia virus (ATLV) infection was determined by using the prevalence rates for three virus markers. Overall prevalence of HBsAg, anti‐HBc and anti‐ATLA was 6.5%, 57.4%, and 17.9%, respectively. Age‐specific prevalence of anti‐HBc and anti‐ATLA increased with age, but that of HBsAg did not. Sex‐specific prevalence of HBsAg was significantly higher in males than in females, but that of anti‐ATLA was significantly higher in females than in males. Statistical analysis revealed that prevalence of anti‐ATLA was significantly higher in HBsAg‐positive persons and HBsAg‐negative/anti‐HBc‐positive persons than in those negative for HBsAg and anti‐HBc. These data suggest that hepatitis B virus‐infected persons have a significantly higher chance of adult T‐cell leukemia virus infection than those without hepatitis B virus infection in the area studied.