HTLV-1 infection

Key Points HTLV-1 is a virus that can infect your blood. Most people with HTLV-1 have no symptoms. Some people will develop adult T-cell leukaemia-lymphoma or HTLV-1 associated myelopathy (HAM). Once you have HTLV-1 you have it for life. There are things you can do to stop spreading the virus to other people. What is HTLV-1? HTLV-1 is a virus that infects your T-cells. T-cells are a type of white blood cell that form part of your immune system. HTLV-1 is also called human T-cell lymphotropic virus. HTLV-1 is a distant relative of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) — the virus that causes