Prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus in blood donor screening at the Blood Center: a descriptive study, Mato Grosso, 2018-2021

Abstract Objectives: To describe the prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1/2) infection among blood donors at the Mato Grosso Blood Center between January 2018 and August 2021, as well as to report the demographic characteristics and coinfections identified in infected donors. Methods : This was a descriptive, retrospective observational study using data from donors who attended during the period analyzed. The automated chemiluminescence technique was used to detect anti-HTLV-1/2 antibodies. Results: A total of 60,568 donor samples were analyzed, of which 63 were positive, with a prevalence of 0.10% (95% confidence interval - 95%CI 0.08; 0.13) of HTLV-1/2 infection. The highest frequency (0.16%; 95%CI 0.10; 0.25) of infection was detected in 2020. Among donors with HTLV-1/2 infection, the following predominated: female, age group 31-45 years, brown skin color, high school education, and employment relationship in the private sector. The screening for HTLV-1/2 coinfection with other pathogens potentially associated with transfusion was positive for hepatitis B (n=5), syphilis (n=5), HIV (n=2), and hepatitis C (n=2). Based on the 95%CI analysis, no difference was observed between the ABO phenotypes of donors with positive HTLV-1/2 serology in the analyzed data. Conclusion: The prevalence of HTLV-1/2 observed in the study sample is similar to that reported by blood centers in southeastern Brazil, but higher than that reported by blood centers in the south. This result highlights the need for population-based epidemiological studies to identify the prevalence and distribution of HTLV-1/2 infection in Mato Grosso.