Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type II (HTLV-II)
- From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Centro di Investigaciones Regionales, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Requests for Reprints: Renu B. Lal, PhD, Retrovirus Diseases Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Mail Stop G-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Human T-lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) is transmitted primarily by sharing contaminated needles and by sexual contact [1, 2]. Unlike for type I, vertical transmission of HTLV-II has not been documented, although breast-feeding has been suggested as a possible risk factor for HTLV-II transmission [3, 4]. Recent serologic analyses of prostitutes and Mayan Indians in Mexico identified women with HTLV-II infection [5]. We studied family members of four of these women who were positive for HTLV-II to identify the mode of transmission of HTLV-II to close family contacts. Although we could not document sexual transmission in the sexual partners of these women who were positive for HTLV-II, we report the first case of mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-II, which occurred in an 8-year-old child who was breast-fed from birth to 4 years.
Methods
Blood specimens were obtained from women who were positive for HTLV-II (three prostitutes [donors Y06, Y01, Y03] and one woman with a history of cervical cancer [Y08]) and their family members from Yucatan, Mexico, who consented to free …
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