1. Reducing the global burden of HTLV-1 infection: An agenda for research and action.
- Author
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Willems L, Hasegawa H, Accolla R, Bangham C, Bazarbachi A, Bertazzoni U, Carneiro-Proietti AB, Cheng H, Chieco-Bianchi L, Ciminale V, Coelho-Dos-Reis J, Esparza J, Gallo RC, Gessain A, Gotuzzo E, Hall W, Harford J, Hermine O, Jacobson S, Macchi B, Macpherson C, Mahieux R, Matsuoka M, Murphy E, Peloponese JM, Simon V, Tagaya Y, Taylor GP, Watanabe T, and Yamano Y
- Subjects
- Advisory Committees, Cost of Illness, HIV Infections epidemiology, HIV Infections prevention & control, HIV Infections virology, Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 isolation & purification, Humans, Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell virology, Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic drug therapy, Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic prevention & control, Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic virology, Spinal Cord Diseases drug therapy, Spinal Cord Diseases prevention & control, Spinal Cord Diseases virology, Biomedical Research, Global Health, HTLV-I Infections drug therapy, HTLV-I Infections epidemiology, HTLV-I Infections prevention & control, HTLV-I Infections transmission
- Abstract
Even though an estimated 10-20 million people worldwide are infected with the oncogenic retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), its epidemiology is poorly understood, and little effort has been made to reduce its prevalence. In response to this situation, the Global Virus Network launched a taskforce in 2014 to develop new methods of prevention and treatment of HTLV-1 infection and promote basic research. HTLV-1 is the etiological agent of two life-threatening diseases, adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, for which no effective therapy is currently available. Although the modes of transmission of HTLV-1 resemble those of the more familiar HIV-1, routine diagnostic methods are generally unavailable to support the prevention of new infections. In the present article, the Taskforce proposes a series of actions to expand epidemiological studies; increase research on mechanisms of HTLV-1 persistence, replication and pathogenesis; discover effective treatments; and develop prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2017
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