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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 133, No. 11: 1125-1134
Copyright © 1991 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) Seroprevalence in Jamaica

II. Geographic and Ecologic Determinants

Elizabeth M. Maloney1,, Edward L. Murphy1 6, Peter Figueroa2, William N. Gibbs3, Beverley Cranston3, Barrie Hanchard3, Marjorie Holding-Cobham4, Karen Malley5 and William A. Blattner1

1Viral Epidemiology Section, National Cancer Institute Bethesda, MD
2Ministry of Health Kingston, Jamaica
3Department of Pathology, University of the West Indies Kingston, Jamaica
4Cornwall Regional Health Department Montego Bay Jamaica
5Atlantic Research Company Bethesda MD

Reprint requests to E Maloney, Viral Epidemilogy Section, Executive Plaza North, Room 434, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20892.

An island-wide cohort of 13,260 Jamaicans who applied for food-handling licenses during 1985 and 1986 were tested for antibodies to human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I). Demographic and residence history data were linked to geographic and ecologic measures of elevation, rainfall, crop-growing areas, population density, and additional measures of urbanization and correlated with HTLV-I antibody status. By logistic regression analysis (performed separately for men and women), men and women who currently resided at low elevation (≤1,000 ft (305 m)) were more likely to be HTLV-I infected than were those residing at high elevation. Men, but not women, who were born in citrus-growing areas were more likely to be HTLV-I infected than were men who were born in other areas. By univariate analysis, there was a significant positive trend of increasing HTLV-I seroprevalence with increasing amount of annual rainfall associated with birthplace and primary residence areas. However, these asso ciations did not remain significant after adjusting for age and sex. These environmental associations raise the possibility of new modes of viral transmission or host response to infection, atthough they may simply be surrogates for socioeconomic status, breastfeeding habits, or sexual behavior, which are known determinants of HTLV-I zero prevalence.

altitude; ecology; HTLV-I; HTLV-I antibodies; HTLV-I infections; socioeconomic factors

6Current address: Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Medicine, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, CA.


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