Prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 infection among blood donors in mainland China: a meta-analysis

SummaryBackgroundHuman T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is considered to be the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Blood transfusion is a common transmission pathway for HTLV-1. However, no surveys to determine the overall prevalence of HTLV-1 infection and HTLV-1 genotypes among blood donors on the Chinese mainland have yet been conducted.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of the peer-reviewed literature on this topic was carried out. Data manipulation and statistical analyses were performed using the Comprehensive Meta Analysis Version 2.0 program.ResultsForty-four eligible articles involving 458 525 blood donors were selected. Analysis revealed the pooled prevalences of HTLV-1 infection among blood donors in Fujian and Guangdong provinces to be 9.9/10 000 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.4/10 000–22.2/10 000) and 2.9/10 000 (95% CI 1.7/10 000–4.8/10 000), respectively; there were only two cases of HTLV-1 infection among 204 763 donors in other areas of the Chinese mainland. In addition, 40 of 42 (95.2%) HTLV-1 isolates belonged to the Transcontinental subgroup A of the HTLV-1 subtype A (Cosmopolitan subtype).ConclusionsThe prevalence of HTLV-1 infection among blood donors is low and restricted mainly to the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. Most isolates belong to the Transcontinental subgroup within HTLV-1 subtype A.