He human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) is a pathogen belonging to the retrovirus family,
deserving attention due to its mechanism of parenteral transmission and being associated with
serious diseases such as adult T-cell leukemia / lymphoma (LLTA) and myelopathy
associated with HTLV / tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM / TSP). It is estimated that
approximately 20 million individuals are infected with HTLV worldwide, including the virus
is documented in all Brazilian states. Screening for HTLV-1 and HTLV-2 has been
mandatory since 1993, in the country. The present study aims to investigate the occurrence of
HTLV vertical transmissions in former blood donors in Belém, served at a federal public
health education service, from January 2008 to April 2018. The methodology consisted of the
search in an electronic database and in the medical records of the unit, a free and informed
consent form (TCLE) was used to collect socio-demographic data. In the period, 747 former
blood donors were investigated, of which 75.8% confirmed the infection by detecting the viral
genome. The male to female ratio was 1: 1, mean age was 40, the most self-reported skin
color was brown. Fifty (38.5%) cases of vertical HTLV transmission were possible in 52
cases, with four (7.7%) cases with more than five years of donation. In view of the occurrence
of possible vertical transmissions with late seroconversions, a better investigation of cases of
HTLV vertical transmissions is necessary for the prevention and monitoring of new viral
transmissions in blood banks.
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