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Ethnic cluster of HTLV‐I infection in Israel among the Mashhadi Jewish population

A high prevalence of human T‐lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV‐I) infection among Israeli Jews was previously reported. In the present study, screening for HTLV‐I of Israeli Jews was expanded to 10 ethnic groups. HTLV‐I antibodies were tested by the particle agglutination assay, ELISA, and by Western blot as a confirmatory method. The HTLV‐I proviral genome was tested by nested PCR with tax primers (SK43/SK44 and Tr101/Tr102). The PCR tests were carried out in all seropositive subjects and the seronegative family members of the seropositives subjects in the Iranian population. Sixty‐eight of the 1,679 subjects (4.1%) were found to be seropositive. The Jews originating from Mashhad had the highest infection rate of 60/306 (20%). Of the 479 Iranian non‐Mashhadi Jews, 6 (1.3%) were seropositive. Of the 894 non‐Iranian Israelis, only 2 (0.2%) were seropositive. HTLV‐I proviral DNA was found in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 66 out of 68 seropositive subjects and 6 out of 75 seronegative subjects. Sixty out of 123 (49%) Mashhadi Jews and 8 out of 14 (57%) non‐Mashhadi Iranian Jews were PCR‐positive. Three out of three seropositive non‐Iranian Israelis were PCR positive. One non‐Iranian Israeli (who originated from Ukraine) without family connections to the Iranian Jews was also PCR‐positive. One hundred eighteen saliva samples (84 from subjects of Mashhadi origin, 31 from Iranian origin, and 4 of other origins) were also screened. Antibodies for HTLV‐I were found in 23 out of 46 saliva samples from the individuals with particle agglutination (PA) and/or PCR‐positive findings in blood. Twenty out of 23 PA‐positive saliva samples also contained the proviral DNA. It is concluded that HTLV‐I infection in Israel is mainly limited to Jews originating from Iran (most of them from Mashhad) and their family members. J. Med. Virol. 56:269–274, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.