[Investigation on HTLV Infection among Voluntary Blood Donors in Fuzhou Area]

To investigate the infection status of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) among voluntary blood donors in Fuzhou, and provide laboratory data support for formulating prevention and control strategies for HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ in Fujian province.

From August 1, 2016, to August 31, 2024, 386 740 voluntary blood donors in Fuzhou were initially screened for HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Reactive specimens from the initial screening were confirmed using Western blot testing.

A total of 175 blood donors were confirmed to have HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ antibody-positive results, with a confirmed positive rate of 0.045% (175/386 740). Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone had the highest confirmed positive rate (0.262%, 33/12 604), while Taijiang District had the lowest (0.024%, 2/8 411). The difference in positive rate among regions was statistically significant (P <0.001). The 40-46 age group had the highest confirmed positive rate (0.104%, 48/45 984), and the difference was statistically significant among different age groups (P <0.001). The highest HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ prevalence rate was observed in 2016 (0.049%, 17/34 353), while the lowest rate was observed in 2019 (0.018%, 14/76 018) and 2020 (0.018%, 13/73 128). The difference in prevalence rates among different years was statistically significant (P <0.001). In terms of gender, the confirmed positive rate was 0.044% (100/226 104) among males and 0.047% (75/160 636) among females, with no statistically significant difference (P >0.05).

Fuzhou is a moderate prevalence area for HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ, with prevalence rates varying by region, year, and age. Therefore, during blood donation recruitment, it is essential to implement targeted screening for high-risk groups to reduce the risk of HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ transmission.