title: TT virus infection in acute non-A to E hepatitis in northern Thailand.
abstract: TT virus is a novel DNA virus widely distributed in the general population. We examined the prevalence of TTV infection in a population with acute non-A to E hepatitis and in comparison groups located in Northern Thailand. The prevalence of TTV in subjects with non-A-E hepatitis was 19% (21/112), 6% (4/72) in healthy volunteers, 17% (12/72) in those with hepatitis A or B, and 17% (8/48) in hospitalized patients with non-hepatitis illnesses. A significant association with TTV infection and non-A-E hepatitis was seen in all groups (OR 3.9, p = 0.02) and in children (OR 25.8, p = 0.001). Among subjects with non-A-E hepatitis, TTV was associated with higher alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels (significant for AST, p = 0.02). Our observations suggest that TTV in our study population may be associated with non-A-E hepatitis and that children in particular may be at risk of hepatocellular injury as a result of TTV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Endy
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Narupiti
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Myint
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suntayakorn
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kuschner
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Vaughn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D017931:DNA Primers; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase