Decline in human T‐cell lymphotropic virus seroprevalence in blood donors from Minas Gerais, Brazil over a 12‐year period (2006–2017)

To investigate a 12‐year historical series (2006–2017) of human T‐cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV)‐positive blood donations from Fundação Hemominas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, an observational retrospective study was performed to evaluate data of blood donor candidates who were screened for HTLV‐1/2 by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay or chemiluminescence assays and confirmed by Western blot. We analyzed 3 309 716 blood donations covering 2006–2017 that were extracted from the institutional database. In a total of 3 308 738 donations that have complete algorithm tests, the global frequency of HTLV‐positive donations was 0.012%. The seroprevalence in first‐time blood donors was 28.82/100 000 donors; 0.95/100 000 donations were HTLV‐positive in repeat blood donors. The frequency of HTLV‐seropositive females was significantly higher than males (odds ratio = 1.85, p