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Retroviral expert discusses HTLV-1, its prevalence among indigenous Australians

Bernie Poiesz, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

Bernie Poiesz, MD (photo by Jim Howe)

If you have read about the unusually high rate of HTLV-1 infections among indigenous people in Australia, you have read about the life's work of scientist Bernie Poiesz, MD, a professor and hematologist/oncologist at Upstate. Poiesz continues his research into human T-cell leukemia viruses, which are called retroviruses because they can copy their RNA into DNA. He describes how these retroviruses are transmitted and explains how they can lead to cancerous lymphomas, a neurological disease similar to multiple sclerosis and a serious respiratory condition. There is no treatment, but work continues on the possible development of a vaccine.

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