High level of genomic divergence in orf-I p12 and hbz genes of HTLV-1 subtype-C in Central Australia

Abstract

Background: Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection remains a largely neglected public health problem, particularly in resource-poor areas with high burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, such as some remote populations in Central Australia where an estimated 37% of adults are infected with HTLV-1. Most of our understanding of HTLV-1 infection comes from studies of the globally spread subtype-A (HTLV-1a), with few molecular studies reported with the Austral-Melanesian subtype-C (HTLV-1c) predominant in the Indo-Pacific and Oceania regions. Results: Using a primer walking strategy and direct sequencing, we constructed HTLV-1c genomic consensus sequences from 2..