Transmission
Transmission of HTLV-I is believed to occur by sexual contact, from mother to child via breastfeeding, and through exposure to contaminated blood, either through blood transfusion or sharing of contaminated needles. The importance of the various routes of transmission is believed to vary geographically.
- In Japan, the geographic clustering of infections suggest that the virus is more dependent on mother-to-child transmission.
- In the Caribbean, the geographic distribution of the virus is more uniform, and it is more common among those with many sexual partners, indicating that sexual transmission is more common.
Read more about this topic: Human T-lymphotropic Virus 1