How do you get human T lymphotropic virus?

HTLV-1 is transmitted primarily through infected bodily fluids including blood, breast milk and semen. Risk factors include unprotected sex, injecting drug use and transplantation of tissue, blood and blood products.

What does HTLV do to the body?

Human T cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infects a type of white blood cell called a T-cell or T-lymphocyte. White blood cells are a type of cell that helps fight infection. HTLV is a type of retrovirus that can cause cancer. It is different than the retrovirus that causes AIDS .

How long do you live with HTLV?

For smoldering and chronic ATLL, median survival is estimated to be ∼30 to 55 mo (9), whereas survival is estimated to be 10 mo for the lymphomatous and 8 mo for the acute subtype, respectively (9). Of HTLV-1–infected patients, 0.25 to 3.8% develop HAM/TSP.

Can HTLV go away?

Both HTLV-I and HTLV-II preferentially infect T-lymphocytes. Most people infected with HTLV-I or HTLV–II will have few to no symptoms but can pass the infection on to others. After the initial infection, the virus never completely goes away but remains in the body in an inactive (latent) form.

Is HTLV curable?

No treatments exist for acute or chronic HTLV infection. Antiretroviral agents have demonstrated the ability to inhibit HTLV replication, but there has been limited research in asymptomatic carriers of HTLV-1, in whom the proviral load is already typically low.

What are the symptoms of HTLV-2?

HTLV-2-associated neurological symptoms include leg weakness, reflex abnormalities, sensory abnormalities, urinary tract abnormalities, sphincter disturbance, spastic paraparesis, and ataxia spastic.

Is HTLV an autoimmune disease?

The development of HTLV-1-driven autoimmunity is hypothesized to rely on molecular mimicry, because virus-like particles can trigger an inflammatory response. However, HTLV-1 modifies the behavior of CD4+ T cells on infection and alters their cytokine production.

Is there a cure for HTLV?