Epidemiology

COUNSELING AND ASSISTANCE GUIDELINES FOR HTLV INFECTED PEOPLE

The human T lymphotropic virus, type I (HTLV-I) and type II (HTLV-II), are closely related retroviruses, although different from the human immunodeficiency virus, which cause the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids). Following the HTLV-I/II sorting in a blood bank, in the United States (USA) in 1988, and in Brazil in 1993, it was finally possible to identify people who got infected and who should be counseled, considering these types of infection. This document is aimed to provide brief updated information on HTLV, types I and II, and to present the recommendations made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, USA), published with the purpose of counseling people infected by the HTLV-I and HTLV-II. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommendations for counseling persons infected with human T-lymphotropic virus, types I and II. Annals of Internal Medicine (Vol. 118, No. 6, March 15, 1993).