INFECÇÃO PELO VÍRUS LINFOTRÓPICO DE CÉLULAS T HUMANAS (HTLV) NA POPULAÇÃO INDÍGENA DA RESERVA DE DOURADOS, MATO GROSSO DO SUL

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is worldwide distributed and shows a high prevalence in Brazil in some population groups like indigenous populations. The second-largest indigenous reserve in the country is located in the city of Dourados in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Considering the lack of studies and epidemiological data on HTLV infection in this population group, this cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with HTLV infection and to investigate the main circulating virus types and subtypes. After consent, 1,875 indigenous people from the reserve in Dourados were interviewed and blood sample were collected. All biological samples were screened for anti-HTLV-1/2 using enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) and the positives confirmed by western blot. The confirmed positive samples were submitted to HTLV 5’LTR region amplification by nested PCR. Proviral DNA was submitted to genotyping sequencing by Sanger. The median age of the population was 31 years. Most were female (74.2%) and from the Guarani-Kaiowá ethnicity (69.2%). Among the individuals studied 872 (46.5%) and 1,003 (53.5%) lived in the villages of Jaguapiru and Bororó, respectively. The prevalence of HTLV-1 infection was 0.1% (95% CI: 0.1-0.2). After phylogenetic analysis, the isolates were classified as Cosmopolitan subtype (1a) and the Transcontinental subgroup (A). The prevalence of HTLV-1 infection in the population studied is considered low when compared to thaose found in other indigenous groups in Brazil. Differently from what was found in these groups in the north of the country, the absence of HTLV-2 in the studied population and the genetic similarity of the isolates suggest the introduction of HTLV-1 from urban to indigenous areas. Keywords: HTLV-1. Prevalence. Indigenous.