Australia announces plan to tackle HIV-like HTLV-1 virus

Australian Government has announced plan to tackle the HIV-like blood-borne virus HTLV-1, found at astonishingly high rates in aboriginal communities in that country.

The country’s Health Minister, Greg Hunt, said on Friday that the government had set aside 8 million dollars (6 million U.S. dollars) to form a task force to combat Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus-1 (HTLV-1) and other emerging communicable diseases in remote communities.

He added that the virus was transmitted through unprotected sex, breastfeeding and blood contact and had affected millions around the world.

Hunt said “a task force will be raised to investigate the emergence and prevalence of HTLV-1 and work with aboriginal communities to develop a road map to respond to the issue.

“At present, its overall impact are not well understood due to data collection difficulties and the limitations of existing information.’’

The minister added that Australia had the highest rate of the disease in the world in some indigenous communities.

According to medical professionals, 40 per cent of adults in certain parts of Australia carry the virus, which is more than 1,000 times the rate anywhere else, noting that there is currently no way to prevent the virus.

The medics said in some cases, the virus could cause rapid and fatal form of leukaemia, spinal cord inflammation, as well as severe lung conditions.

HTLV-1 has been described by medical professionals as distant relative of HIV, first detected in 1979 in the U.S.