Reducing the global burden of HTLV-1 infection: An agenda for research and action

Even though an estimated 10–20 million people worldwide are infected with the oncogenic retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), its epidemiology is poorly understood, and little effort has been made to reduce its prevalence. In response to this situation, the Global Virus Network lau...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Antiviral research 2017-01, Vol.137, p.41-48
Main Authors:	Willems, Luc, Hasegawa, Hideki, Accolla, Roberto, Bangham, Charles, Bazarbachi, Ali, Bertazzoni, Umberto, Carneiro-Proietti, Anna Barbara de Freitas, Cheng, Hua, Chieco-Bianchi, Luigi, Ciminale, Vincenzo, Coelho-dos-Reis, Jordana, Esparza, José, Gallo, Robert C., Gessain, Antoine, Gotuzzo, Eduardo, Hall, William, Harford, Joseph, Hermine, Olivier, Jacobson, Steven, Macchi, Beatrice, Macpherson, Calum, Mahieux, Renaud, Matsuoka, Masao, Murphy, Edward, Peloponese, Jean-Marie, Simon, Viviana, Tagaya, Yutaka, Taylor, Graham P., Watanabe, Toshiki, Yamano, Yoshihisa
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Advisory Committees Biomedical Research Cost of Illness Global Health HIV Infections - epidemiology HIV Infections - prevention & control HIV Infections - virology HTLV-1 HTLV-I Infections - drug therapy HTLV-I Infections - epidemiology HTLV-I Infections - prevention & control HTLV-I Infections - transmission Human health sciences Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 - isolation & purification Humans Leukemia Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell - virology Life Sciences Oncogene Oncologie Oncology Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic - drug therapy Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic - prevention & control Paraparesis, Tropical Spastic - virology Retrovirus Sciences de la santé humaine Spinal Cord Diseases - drug therapy Spinal Cord Diseases - prevention & control Spinal Cord Diseases - virology Vaccine
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Summary:	Even though an estimated 10–20 million people worldwide are infected with the oncogenic retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), its epidemiology is poorly understood, and little effort has been made to reduce its prevalence. In response to this situation, the Global Virus Network launched a taskforce in 2014 to develop new methods of prevention and treatment of HTLV-1 infection and promote basic research. HTLV-1 is the etiological agent of two life-threatening diseases, adult T-cell leukemia and HTLV-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, for which no effective therapy is currently available. Although the modes of transmission of HTLV-1 resemble those of the more familiar HIV-1, routine diagnostic methods are generally unavailable to support the prevention of new infections. In the present article, the Taskforce proposes a series of actions to expand epidemiological studies; increase research on mechanisms of HTLV-1 persistence, replication and pathogenesis; discover effective treatments; and develop prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. •This review outlines priorities and open questions in HTLV research:•Review the global prevalence of HTLV-1 infection and identify opportunities and means to expand epidemiological studies.•Identify biomarkers to predict disease progression.•Develop prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.•Screen for existing and novel drugs to improve therapy.•Perform basic research to unravel mechanisms of pathogenesis and open insights into novel treatments.
ISSN:	0166-3542 1872-9096