There are deficiencies in the knowledge and practice of women at risk of contracting infection with HTLV-1. This study shows that knowledge may not be retained, therefore health education will need to be sustained.

This review follows the contributions of researchers from the Caribbean in improving the understanding of the disease mechanisms, clinical features and aetiology of neurological syndromes manifesting as diseases of the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The link between the natural history of human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infection and the immunopathogenesis of tropical spastic paraparesis is explored.