title: TT virus in the nasal secretions of children with acute respiratory diseases: relations to viremia and disease severity.
abstract: The natural history and pathogenic potential of the recently identified TT virus (TTV) are currently a matter of intensive investigation. In an attempt to shed some light on these issues, nasal and blood specimens of 1- to 24-month-old children hospitalized with a clinical diagnosis of acute respiratory disease (ARD) were examined for the presence, load, and genetic characteristics of TTV. The results have indicated that at least in young children, the respiratory tract not only represents a route by which abundant TTV can be shed into the environment but also may be a site of primary infection and continual replication. Although we found no compelling evidence that TTV was the direct cause of ARD in some of the children studied, the average loads of TTV were considerably higher in patients with bronchopneumonia (BP) than in those with milder ARD, raising interesting questions about the pathophysiological significance of TTV at this site. Furthermore, group 4 TTV was detected almost exclusively in children with BP.
authors.affiliation: Virology Section and Retrovirus Center, Department of Experimental Pathology, University of Pisa, Via San Zeno 37, I-56127 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pifferi
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fornai
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tempestini
authors.forename: Marialinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vatteroni
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Presciuttini
authors.forename: Santino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marchi
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pietrobelli
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boner
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pistello
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bendinelli
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009093:Mucus / Q000821:virology*; D009666:Nose / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013048:Specimen Handling; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral