Mysterious outbreak of viruses linked to a macabre religious ritual

Doctors were perplexed by an unknown virus outbreak among a group of 10 people living in London. They were not addicts and had never received a blood transfusion., and showed no other identifiable risk factor for blood-borne viruses

The case was a little mysterious, but one of the doctors then noticed unusual scars on the patient's back. This led them to identify a common thread among all the infected men: they were all Muslims who had taken part in a bloody religious ritual.

Reporting in the newspaper Emerging infectious diseases, scientists from Imperial College London and St Mary's Hospital in London documented the spread of type 1 T-cell human lymphotrope virus (HTLV-1) by self-flagellation.

All men appeared to have contracted the blood-borne virus separately through a religious ritual of hurting themselves with stems or sharp blades as an expression of faith in some Islamic and Catholic communities. Shiites.

One of the men even remembered that the blades were soaked in a bucket of an antiseptic solution with blades used by other men. Although you may assume that this would be enough to sterilize the material, the virus survived and was passed on to other men who opened the wound with the blade.

"It is likely that the sharing of blood-stained slides, the reuse of personal equipment after insufficient cleaning with a shared disinfectant, contact of infected blood with open wounds, or contact with infected medical equipment resulted in transmission of HTLV-1, "write the authors of the study.

HTLV-1 is actually a distant relative of HIV. The large majority people with HTLV-1 never show any symptoms, however, between 2 and 5% of those infected will develop cancer of the T cells, a type of white blood cell. Less than 2% of people with HTLV-1 will develop HAM / TSP, a chronic disease of the nervous system. Unfortunately, there is no known cure yet.

Breastfeeding, needle sharing and sexual transmission are the most common cause of transmission. Doctors in charge of the case now argue that self-flagellation should be added to the list of ways to spread a dangerous viral blood infection. They note that one of the men had also contracted hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can eventually lead to life-threatening liver damage. Although quite common in some parts of the world, this religious ritual has never been officially described as a risk factor.

"Our message is not" Do not do it. "Our message is," If you do, do not share any equipment, "told the Associated Press, Dr. Divya Dhasmana of St. Mary's Hospital in London.