I Need More Information On HTLV-1 After Traveling Abroad?
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Hi AMH Nationwide,
I need more information on HTLV-1 Recently I returned home from Thailand. I was there for three weeks with a group of my college friends. We were there as a present to ourselves for completing law school. One of our first nights out I met a really cute guy my age. We spent time bonding my entire trip. I need the HTLV-1 test because a week before it was time to return home this guy and I had sex.
The sex wasn’t really planned so we did not use protection. Although the guy was really nice and seemed fairly normal I’m kind of freaking out. Before our trip to Thailand I only had 3 sexual partners; all of my past sexual partners were former committed boyfriends. I’ve already been tested for the normal STDs and everything seems fine but I’ve heard so much about this HTLV-1. I’ve heard this virus has seen a huge increase in foreign countries.
Susan W, Fort Mill, SC
Hello Susan,
I’ll start by saying it is unlikely that you have the HTLV-1 virus. Although there has been a relatively significant increase in reported cases, this influx is pretty contained to specific regions. The closest area to Thailand that has been affected by this influx is in Japan. All things considered, an exposure to this virus is extremely dangerous. HTLV-1 is spread sexually, by blood and by breast milk.
Once infected HTLV-1 can cause a host of
health problems including leukemia, lymphoma, bronchiectasis and more. It could be decades before the host of this virus has any symptoms from the mention health problems, Although, this virus is extremely dangerous there have been very few studies on it as it only affects .2 percent of the world’s population. Of the .2 percent most areas that are affected, are remote. Although the likelihood of you having this infection is extremely low, if you feel like you want to be tested you should. If you need more information about this virus please contact our office.