The incidence of anti-ATLA (antibodies to adult T-cell leukemia-associated antigen) among hemodialysis patients in the Kagoshima district with special reference to blood transfusion

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy Vol. 19; no. 8; pp. 757 - 762
• Main Authors: Hanada, Shuichi, Nomura, Koichiro, Ostuji, Yoshihito, Yoshidome, Etsuo, Hashimoto, Shuji, Osaki, Kazuya, Uematsu, Toshiaki, Harada, Ryuji, Uemura, Shinichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Dialysis Therapy 28.08.1986
• Subjects: anti-ATLA; ATL; blood transfusion; hemodialysis patients; HTLV-1
• ISSN: 0911-5889; 1884-6211
• DOI: 10.4009/jsdt1985.19.757

The incidence of anti-ATLA was investigated in 234 patients with chronic renal failure under hemodialysis. The results obtained were as follows. 1) The seropositivity of the patients (33.8%) was higher than that of healthy residents (11.7%) and blood donors (6.9%) in the Kagoshima district, an ATL-endemic area (p<0.01). 2) There was no correlation between the duration of hemodialysis and anti-ATLA positivity. 3) The incidence of anti-ATLA increased with the rise in the number of blood transfusions given (p<0.05). 4) The seropositivity of patients without episodes of blood transfusion was also higher than that of healthy residents in the Kagoshima district (p<0.05). The data suggested that HTLV-1 was transmissible by blood transfuion, and that therefore it seems necessary to carry out mass-screening of blood units to prevent the spread of HTLV-1 infection in ATL-endemic areas, as soon as possible. Further future studies to clarify why the seropositivity of patients without blood transfusion was statistically high may also be necessary.