Surveillance of HTLV-l/ll and their dominant genotypes among healthy blood donors in Karachi, Pakistan

A Cardinal ambition behind this study is to appraise the ubiquity of HTLV-l and HTLV-ll among blood donors, because some life threatening diseases or viruses are spreading by blood including HTLV-l and ll. HTLV-l is the first discovered human retrovirus isolated in1979 from a vitro cultured cell medium using T-cell to a victim suffering from skin lymphoma of T-cell. HTLV-l/ll allied with malignancy of T-cell, a rare cancer of the immune system's own T-cells known as Adult T-cell lymphoma/leukemia (ATL), some neurologic disorders (HAM), Tropical spastic parapasis and other Oncogenic infection. HTLV-ll is also a closely homology virus of HTLV-l but not linked to lymphoproliferative disorders. Transmission routes are sexual contact, blood and blood component, syringes, from mother and by breast milk. Terrestrial spreading occurs far-off twenty-five years and the high ratio found in Japan, America, Africa and Iran. In many part of the world different diagnostic test are performed to screened the blood and its product to HIV, HCV, HBs-ag and HTLV-l/ll which obviously played an important role in decreasing of virus transmission. Unfortunately in developing countries including Pakistan HTLV-l/ll could not get attention as other viral infection, Proposed study is the first detailed study from Pakistan which aim to evaluate the surveillance for HTLV type l and ll in healthy blood donors. In this project we analyzed 100 healthy blood donor’s serum sample by RT-PCR and found negative all of our samples while all the calibrators and control were satisfactory. But HTLV-l/ll virus could not be negligible because we analyzed a small sample size (n=100). We hope that Health authorities will take immediate step on this virus surveillance data collection in Pakistan as soon as possible, because of presence of this virus in our next door neighboring country Iran in a noticeable ratio.