A Seroepidemiological Study of HTLV-1 Infection in Nepal

Abstract
A seroepidemiological survey of antibodies to human T-lymphotropic retrovirus type-1 (HTLV-1) was carried out among 413 residents of Chitwan, Dhapakhel and Katmandu in Nepal. Donor screening was first carried out by the gelatin particle agglutination (PA) tests and positive sera were retested by an improved PA test, indirect immunofluorescence (IF) and Western blotting (WB). Nine sera showed positive reaction in the first PA screening. Among these positive sera, 1 serum was positive in the improved PA test and the IF test but negative in the WB test. This study suggests that the prevalence of HTLV-1 in Nepalese people is negligible.