{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T12:31:49Z","timestamp":1793277109064,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777939200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777939200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Microbiol Spectr"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title\/>\n                    <jats:p>The human T lymphotropic virus types 1 and 2 (HTLV-1\/2) are highly endemic in sub-Saharan Africa but are largely unreported. This is due to limited knowledge of HTLV-1\/2 infections and a lack of suitable facilities for systematic screening. To address this, the flow immunochromatographic assay (IC) was developed for the rapid, point-of-care detection of anti-HTLV-I\/II antibodies in blood samples, offering a convenient tool for improving healthcare in low-income countries. Previous reports on the IC assay have noted high specificity (up to 99.42%) and sensitivity (100%) for certain HTLV-1 strains. In this study, we assessed the performance of the IC assay using HTLV-1\/2 samples from Gabon and compared its results with those obtained using two reference serological methods: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot (WB). Our findings indicate that the overall performance of the IC assay was lower with Gabon-related strains, showing a sensitivity of 66.7% (95% CI, 58.5%\u201374.3%) and a specificity of 99.1% (95% CI, 96.7%\u201399.8%). A notable variation in sensitivity was observed across different HTLV-1 genotypes: B-genotype with 73.7% sensitivity (95% CI, 61.0%\u201383.3%), D-genotype with 25% sensitivity (95% CI, 0.04%\u20130.7%), and A-genotype with 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 0.7%\u2013100%). The IC assay also showed a positive reaction with samples of the rare F-genotype and correctly detected all eight samples related to HTLV-1-associated diseases that were tested. These results suggest that while the IC assay appears suitable for detecting A-genotypes, it has relatively lower sensitivity for the B- and D-genotypes that are common in Central Africa. Therefore, IC test outcomes, especially negative results, should be interpreted with caution in this region.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Over 5 million people in Africa are living with HTLV-1 without knowing their serological status or the potential risks of associated diseases. Contrary to other industrialized countries, where systematic HTLV-1\/2 screening is implemented, HTLV-1 antibody screening appears to be totally absent in low-income countries of the African continent. Such conditions are undoubtedly due to the high cost of current HTLV-1\/2 reagents and laboratory equipment needed for retrovirus screening. In this context, the newly developed lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (IC), specifically the MP Diagnostics ASSURE HTLV-I\/II Rapid Test, could help not only to gain a better understanding of HTLV-1\/2 epidemiology but also to improve the health care system of low-income countries. Thus, in this study, we aimed to assess the performance of this IC assay with HTLV-1\/2 African genotypes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.03867-25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T13:15:17Z","timestamp":1774271717000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Evaluation of the immunochromatographic assay for HTLV-1\/2 detection in Gabon: genotype-specific limitations in Central Africa"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Eldridge Fedricksen","family":"Oloumbou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanneke Fanhole","family":"Moussonda-Mouele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdoulaye","family":"Dian\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michel Charonne","family":"Mbezele-Ba-Nsegue-Abessolo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ivan","family":"Mfouo-Tynga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3143-1060","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Augustin","family":"Mouinga-Ond\u00e9m\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01wyqb997","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Unit\u00e9 des Infections R\u00e9trovirales et Pathologies Associ\u00e9es, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches M\u00e9dicales de Franceville (CIRMF)","place":["Franceville, Gabon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"235","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.77.12.7415"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2012.00388"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2023.1043600"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/(sici)1097-0215(20000201)85:3<319::aid-ijc4>3.0.co;2-b"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","first-page":"1096","article-title":"The risk of development of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy\/tropical spastic paraparesis among persons infected with HTLV-I","volume":"3","author":"Kaplan JE","year":"1990","unstructured":"Kaplan JE, Osame M, Kubota H, Igata A, Nishitani H, Maeda Y, Khabbaz RF, Janssen RS. 1990. 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