%0 Journal Article %T Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 subtype C melanesian genetic variants of the Vanuatu Archipelago and Solomon Islands share a common ancestor. %+ Epidémiologie et Physiopathologie des Virus Oncogènes %+ Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie %+ World Health Organization/Organisation Mondiale de la Santé %+ Ministry of Health %+ Vanuatu Family Health Association %A Cassar, Olivier %A Capuano, Corinne %A Bassot, Sylviane %A Charavay, Françoise %A Duprez, Renan %A Afonso, Philippe V. %A Abel, Myriam %A Walter, Helene %A Mera, Woreka %A Martin, Paul M V %A Chungue, Eliane %A Gessain, Antoine %< avec comité de lecture %@ 0022-1899 %J Journal of Infectious Diseases %I Oxford University Press (OUP) %V 196 %N 4 %P 510-21 %8 2007-08-15 %D 2007 %R 10.1086/519167 %M 17624835 %Z Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and ParasitologyJournal articles %X BACKGROUND: Melanesia is endemic for human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) subtype C. In 2005, we identified 4 infected women from Ambae Island, Vanuatu. Subsequently, 4247 Ni-Vanuatu originating from 18 islands were enrolled to define HTLV-1 epidemiological determinants and to characterize the viral strains molecularly. METHODS: Plasma from 1074 males and 3173 females were screened for HTLV-1/2 antibodies by particle agglutination (PA) and an immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Positive and/or borderline samples were then tested by a Western blot (WB) confirmatory assay. DNAs were amplified to obtain a 522-bp env gene fragment. Phylogenetic and molecular-clock analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of 4247 samples, 762 were positive and/or borderline by IFA/PA, and 26 of them were confirmed to be HTLV-1 positive by WB. The overall HTLV-1 seroprevalence was 0.62%. Viral transmission was found within families of infected index case patients. A geographic heterogeneity of HTLV-1 seroprevalence was observed among the islands. All 41 of the new env sequences belonged to HTLV-1 subtype C. Phylogenetic and molecular-clock analyses suggested that Ni-Vanuatu and Solomon Islander strains emerged from a common ancestor ~10,000 years ago. CONCLUSION: The Vanuatu archipelago is endemic for HTLV-1 with a diversity of subtype C variants. These strains were probably introduced into Vanuatu during ancient migration of the original settlers a few thousand years ago. %G English %L pasteur-00531356 %U https://pasteur.hal.science/pasteur-00531356 %~ PASTEUR %~ RIIP %~ CNRS %~ RIIP_PARIS %~ RIIP_NOUVELLECALEDONIE %~ UP-SCIENCES