Evaluation of the use of real-time PCR for human T cell lymphotropic virus 1 and 2 as a confirmatory test in screening for blood donors

INTRODUCTION: HTLV-1/2 screening among blood donors commonly utilizes an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA), followed by a confirmatory method such as Western blot (WB) if the EIA is positive. However, this algorithm yields a high rate of inconclusive results, and is expensive. METHODS: Two qualitative real-time PCR assays were developed to detect HTLV-1 and 2, and a total of 318 samples were tested (152 blood donors, 108 asymptomatic carriers, 26 HAM/TSP patients and 30 seronegative individuals). RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of PCR in comparison with WB results were 99.4% and 98.5%, respectively. PCR tests were more efficient for identifying the virus type, detecting HTLV-2 infection and defining inconclusive cases. CONCLUSIONS: Because real-time PCR is sensitive and practical and costs much less than WB, this technique can be used as a confirmatory test for HTLV in blood banks, as a replacement for WB.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Andrade,Rafaela Gomes, Ribeiro,Maísa Aparecida, Namen-Lopes,Maria Sueli Silva, Silva,Sônia Mara Nunes, Basques,Fernando Valadares, Ribas,João Gabriel, Carneiro-Proietti,Anna Bárbara de Freitas, Martins,Marina Lobato
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical - SBMT 2010
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822010000200001
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