DETECTION OF HTLV-I ANTIBODIES AND DNA IN BLOOD SAMPLE OF A PATIENT WITH MYELOPATHY IN NIGERIA

Author(s): OLALEYE O. D., OGUNNIYI A., SHENG Zhi Juan, LI Zhiliang, RASHEED S.
Keywords: HTLV-I, Myelopathy, Nigeria
Journal: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
Year: 1998
Full text: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46651998000100011
Publisher: Instituto de Medicina Tropical
Abstract: We describe a case of human T-lymphotropic virus type I associated myelopathy in a 50-year old woman in Nigeria. The patient presented with progressive loss of tone to the two lower limbs and later inability to walk. The HTLV-I antibody presence in the plasma collected from the patient was repeatedly detected by enzyme immunoassays (Abbott HTLV-I EIA and Coulter SELECT-HTLV I/II) and confirmed by Western blot technique. In addition, HTLV-I DNA was amplified from the genomic DNA isolated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the patient by the polymerase chain reaction technique. This finding is significant being the first report of association of HTLV-I with myelopathy in Nigeria.