Human T Lymphotropic Virus-I (HTLV-I), the Causative Agent of Acute T-Cell Leukaemia/Lymphoma, Is Absent among Blood Donors in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Since the 1990s, antibodies to human T-lymphotropic virus type I (anti-HTLV-I) have been screened in units of blood donors at blood banks in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). HTLV-I was the first human retrovirus to be discovered which naturally infects CD4+ T lymphocytes and can be transmitted through blood transfer or from mother to infant through cells in breast milk. In most cases, the infection is harmless but may develop a type of adult T-cell leukemia in which every tumor cell carries a clonally integrated HTLV-I provirus. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-HTLV-I/II antibodies in blood donations at Aseer region, KSA, and to compare the results with other reports from different localities in KSA, as well as the cost effectiveness of anti-HTLVI/II antibodies screening. A 4432 blood units collected from blood donors at Aseer region were tested for the presence of anti-HTLV-I/II using enzymelinked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). There was no seropositive case in the tested blood units. Therefore, Aseer Region appears to be a non-endemic area for HTLV-I/II. Also, the current practice of screening all blood donors for anti-HTLV-I/II should be reviewed all over the Kingdom as it does not seem to be cost-effective.