HTLV-I/II associated disease in England and Wales, 1993-7: retrospective review of serology requests

Abstract
A serological diagnosis of HTLV-I infection is essential for the diagnosis of related disease, and case ascertainment was therefore based on a review of requests made to two national reference laboratories. Samples repeatedly reactive in screening assays were further examined for HTLV-I and II type specific antibodies by Western blot (GeneLabs HTLV 2.3/2.4, Singapore) or Select-HTLV (Biochem ImmunoSystems, Montreal). Clinical data on HTLV-I/II infected subjects first tested in 1993-7 inclusive were collected from referral forms, with additional medical details being requested from the referring centres as appropriate.