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Prevalence of HTLV-I-associated uveitis in the Kanto Plain, Japan
M Ishioka1, K Goto, S Nakamura
1Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Background:
Seroprevalence of antibody to human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is high in the island of Kyushu, Japan. Reports on the etiological analysis of HTLV-I in patients with uveitis primarily document cases in this island. We studied the seroprevalence of HTLV-I at the Department of Ophthalmology in Yokohama City University Hospital and in Odawara Municipal Hospital, which are in the Kanto Plain on the island of Honshu, Japan.
Methods:
The subjects were 741 patients who visited the two hospitals. The presence of serum antibodies against HTLV-I was assessed using the method of particle agglutination.
Results:
Of 454 patients with nonuveitic ocular diseases, 9 (1.98%) were seropositive. Of 143 patients with definite diagnosis of uveitis, 1 (0.70%) was seropositive. Of 144 patients with non-specific uveitis (etiology undefined), 8 (5.56%) were seropositive. Thus, the prevalence of serum antibodies to HTLV-I was higher in patients with non-specific uveitis than in patients with specific uveitis or nonuveitic ocular diseases. Common ocular symptoms of 8 HTLV-I-infected patients with non-specific uveitis were compatible with the clinical features of uveitis described as HTLV-I-associated uveitis (HAU).
Conclusion:
It is important to suspect HAU in patients with uveitis of unknown etiology, even outside known areas of prevalence.