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Epidemiology of Human Lymphotrophic Retroviruses: An Overview¹

Family Studies Section, Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Landow Building Room 3C29, Bethesda, Maryland 20205

The discovery of HTLV-I opened the way for the subsequent recognition of other human retroviruses. HTLV-I is linked to an aggressive T-cell cancer. The availability of a marker for the AIDS agent, HTLV-III, has substantially enhanced our ability to define the nature of the AIDS epidemic, its clinical and subclinical manifestations, and the spectrum of disease outcomes associated with this exposure. Of particular interest is the fact that there is substantial risk for AIDS and AIDS-related outcomes in virally infected individuals as detected by antibody positivity. The preliminary data from these well defined cohorts provide a basis for estimating the enormity of the AIDS epidemic as it is starting to emerge and provide an opportunity for the forward thinking health strategies necessary for dealing with a pandemic of such proportions.