Urgent need to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-1 in Jamaica
There is an urgent need to prevent mother to child transmission (MTCT) of Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus Type-1 (HTLV-1) infection in Jamaica and the Caribbean. This can readily be done by introducing routine HTLV-1 testing of pregnant women and advising those who are seropositive to abstain from or restrict breastfeeding to four months or less. Prevalence of HTLV-1 is higher in women than men and increases with age and multiparity, with 1.5%–10.9% of women of reproductive age in Jamaica being HTLV-1 infected. Approximately 18%–26% of breastfed infants born to HTLV-1 seropositive mothers acquire the infection. A prospective cohort study in Kingston found that among children observed for at least 24 months, 19 (32%) of 60 children breastfed for 12 months or longer were HTLV-I seropositive, compared with only 8 (9%) of 86 children breastfed for less than 12 months (relative risk, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.7–6.9).