%0 Systematic Review
%T Prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection in pregnant women in Central and South America and the Caribbean: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
%A Sánchez-Núñez JP
%A de-Miguel-Balsa E
%A Soriano V
%A Lorenzo-Garrido E
%A Giménez-Richarte A
%A Otero-Rodriguez S
%A Celis-Salinas JC
%A de-Mendoza C
%A Casapia-Morales M
%A Ramos-Rincón JM
%J Int J Infect Dis
%V 143
%N 0
%D 2024 Jun 22
%M 38522611
%F 12.074
%R 10.1016/j.ijid.2024.107018
%X BACKGROUND: Human T-lymphotropic viruses (HTLV)-1 infection is endemic in many countries of Central and South America and Caribbean (CSA&C). Neither screening nor surveillance programs exist for HTLV-1/2 infection among pregnant women in this region. Neither in Western nations with large migrant flows from HTLV-1/2 endemic regions.
METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection among CSA&C pregnant women. We included studies searching EMBASE, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to February 15, 2023. This systematic review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines.
RESULTS: We identified a total of 620 studies. Only 41 were finally included in the meta-analysis. Most studies (61.0%) were from Brazil and Peru (14.6%). The total number of participants was 343,707. The pooled prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection among CSA&C pregnant women was 1.30% (95% CI: 0.96-1.69) using anti-HTLV-1/2 antibody screening tests. There was a high heterogeneity (I2 = 98.6%). Confirmatory tests gave an HTLV-1 infection rate of 1.02% (95% CI: 0.75-1.33).
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HTLV-1/2 infection among CSA&C pregnant women is 1.3%, most cases being HTLV-1. This rate is greater than for other microbial agents regularly checked as part of antenatal screening (such as HIV, hepatitis B, or syphilis). Thus, HTLV-1/2 antenatal testing should be mandatory among CSA&C pregnant women everywhere.