Seroprevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus antibodies among patients with lymphoid malignancies at a tertiary center in Lagos, Nigeria

Akinsegun Akinbami,1 Idris Durojaiye,2 Adedoyin Dosunmu,1 Sarah John-Olabode,3 Adewumi Adediran,4 Olajumoke Oshinaike,5 Ebele Uche,1 Akinola Dada,5 Mojeed Odesanya,6 Olaitan Okunoye7 1Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria; 2Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; 3Department of Haematology and Immunology, Ben Carson School of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria; 4Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; 5Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria; 6Oak Hospitals, Ikorodu, Nigeria; 7Department of Medicine, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers, Nigeria Background: There is a significant association of human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV) with lymphoid malignancies. HTLV causes a lymphoproliferative malignancy of CD4-activated cells called adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and a chronic myelopathy called tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM). This study aims to determine the prevalence of HTLV among patients with lymphoid malignancies at a tertiary center in Lagos. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the hematology clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. After obtaining consent, approximately 5 mL of venous blood was collected from each subject. The serum was separated and stored at –20°C. Sera were assayed for HTLV by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for the determination of antibodies to HTLV-1 and -2. Western blot confirmatory testing was done on reactive samples. All patients were also screened for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) by rapid kits. Results: A total of 39 patients with lymphoid malignancies were enro