A prospective study on TT virus infection in transfusion-dependent patients with beta-thalassemia.
A novel DNA virus designated TT virus (TTV) has been reported to be involved in the development of posttransfusion non-A-C hepatitis. We evaluated the frequency and natural course of TTV infection in a cohort of transfusion-dependent thalassemic patients in a 3-year follow-up study. Ninety-three serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody-negative patients (median age of 8 years; range, 0 to 25) from eight centers were studied. Of them, 34 (37%) had an abnormal alanine-aminotransferase (ALT) baseline pattern, and the other 12 (13%) showed ALT flare-ups during the follow-up. TTV DNA in patient sera collected at the time of enrollment and at the end of follow-up was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In parallel, serum samples from 100 healthy blood donors were also tested. At baseline, 87 patient sera (93.5%) tested positive for the TTV DNA. Of these TTV DNA-positive patients, 84 (96.5%) remained viremic at the end of the study period. Of the 6 TTV DNA-negative patients, 3 acquired TTV infection during follow-up. However, no definite relation was observed between the results of TTV DNA determination and ALT patterns. TTV viremia was also detectable in 22% of blood donors. In conclusion, TTV infection is frequent and persistent among Italian transfusion-dependent patients. The high rate of viremia observed in healthy donors indicates that the parenteral route is not the only mode of TTV spread.
Centro Trasfusionale e di Immunologia dei Trapianti, Divisione di Ematologia, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Milano, Italy.
D
D
Prati
Y H
YH
Lin
C
C
De Mattei
J K
JK
Liu
E
E
Farma
L
L
Ramaswamy
A
A
Zanella
H
H
Lee
P
P
Rebulla
J P
JP
Allain
G
G
Sirchia
B
B
Chen
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006518:Hepatitis Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*
D014764:Viral Proteins