There are over 20 million people that have HTLV worldwide and no one is actively looking for a cure. HTLV is considered a minor disease due to only 1% of people that contract it suffer from life threatening situations such as cancer. But HTLV can cause things like dermatitis, joint inflammation and swelling, uvitis, etc. HPV has been almost cured via the creation and introduction of the Guardasil vaccination. HTLV is contracted sexually just as HPV is and no one is making a stance on the virus sadly to say. People are suffering in silence because they are scared of the stigma involved with having HTLV. There has be the use of vidaza in Greece to cure a gentleman of HTLV but the cost associate with the injections are astronomical and out of the reach of most people even if it's approved by insurance or if they have the means to pay for it. Someway, somehow people need to make it know that they want this disease eradicated or close to eradication. There needs to be one less person suffering from the disease.
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This is really sad that the world is ignorent of this disease to such extent.
How can the world leave 25mm people suffering from this disease, where are scientist, why cant we have one vacciine even to supress the viral load. Where is humanity?
Jack1260 thanks for your comment. People view HTLV as not being life threatening since it does not cause life threatening symptoms for all. It's an uncurable virus like HPV is but at least with HVP there are 2 vaccines that are available. There was a vaccine in the works for HTLV that was about to come to fruition 20 years ago from a pharmacutical company named Virologix but it was bought by Access Pharmacuticals and hence the HTLV vaccine was shelved and not released. If you would like more information on HTLV - go to http://htlvhelp.com
Indeed UWW & Jack make valid points - the HTLV virus is widespread, millions of people are suffering and dying because of it, and the stigma of ignoring and banishing HTLV sufferers from medical care is tremendous. Furthermore, HTLV also affects people with HIV, since HIV / HTLV coinfection is common, and HTLV accelerates HIV's progression to AIDS. The fact that many drugs exist to treat HTLV but arent being used is a disaster in itself - people suffering from HTLV deserve to be treated and even cured, as was the case of the patient in Greece after eight months of Vidaza treatment.
It is so funny that people comment as 95% asymptomatic withount knowing anything on this disease. But actually living with this disease is so different its like full blown AIDS. It gives you multiple problems neurological, skin darmatise, uivites, bladder dysfunction, fatigue, constipation, weakness.
Its is classed as HIV bilogically, Yet this virus has very low profile in medical community. No one bothers for 35mm people. Govt and medical community neglect it as a rare disease. But more than 35mm is not rare by any means.
Also diagnosing HTLV infection itself is a big struggle since there is no good diagnostic test that can catch the virus early at infection. Anti body test gives false negative uptill months and there is no concrete window period for HTLV like HIV. People test positive after a year on antibody test cuz the anti body test are not good enough to catch this virus early.Anti body test keeps repeating false negative uptill 7-8 months.
Hope medical community recognise this and do some serious reasrch on this virus/ come with some anti viral for HTLV sufferer.
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