The human T-cell leukemia-lymphoma virus in the southeastern United States
D. W. Blayney, W. A. Blattner, M. Robert-Guroff, E. S. Jaffe, R. I. Fisher, P. A. Bunn Jr, M. G. Patton, H. R. Rarick and R. C. Gallo
The human T-cell leukemia-lymphoma virus (HTLV) is a recently described RNA
tumor virus associated with human T-cell malignant neoplasms. In two
geographic areas, Japan and the Caribbean basin, clusters of adult T-cell
leukemia-lymphoma are "sentinel diseases" and have suggested an underlying
prevalence of HTLV infection in both family members of the index cases and
in the population. Four cases of lymphoma from the United States are
described as illustrative of the sentinel disease. Serological studies of
families and of a small population sample suggest that HTLV infection is
endemic in certain parts of the southeastern United States at rates similar
to those seen in Caribbean blacks but at a lower rate than that observed in
southwestern Japan.
