title: Torque teno virus and hepatitis C virus co-infection in Iranian pediatric thalassemia patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Torque teno virus (TTV) infects patients at risk for parenteral exposure and chronic blood transfusion, such as those with β-thalassemic. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of TTV infection and co-infection of TTV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in pediatric thalassemia patients receiving chronic blood transfusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 90 pediatric thalassemia patients receiving chronic blood transfusion that presented to the Mofid Children's Hospital, Tehran, Iran. The control group included 90 healthy volunteer children. Serum TTV DNA detection via semi-nested PCR and HCV Ab were performed in all the participants. Demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected from each participant for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 64.4% of the patients had TTV infection, versus 24.4% of the controls (P < 0.01). The thalassemia patients had a greater probability of having TTV and HCV infections than the controls, with a common OR of 5.60 (95% CI: 2.94-10.69) and 2.15 (95% CI: 1.83-2.50), respectively. In total, 17.2% (10/58) of the patients that were TTV positive were also HCV positive, whereas 6.3% (2/32) of the TTV-negative patients were anti-HCV antibody (Ab) positive (P = 0.14).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of TTV and HCV infection was higher in the Iranian thalassemia patients on chronic transfusion therapy than in the controls. The high prevalence of TTV in pediatric thalassemia patients on chromic transfusion therapy may indicate the superiority of the parenteral route compared to other routs of TTV transmission.
authors.affiliation: Mofid Children's Hospital, , Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department, and Pediatric Infectious Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Samin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alavi
authors.affiliation: Students' Scientific Research Center (SSRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali Kord
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Valeshabad
authors.affiliation: Iranian Blood and Transfusion Organization, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zohreh
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sharifi
authors.affiliation: Mofid Children's Hospital, , Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department, and Pediatric Infectious Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nourbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Mofid Children's Hospital, , Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department, and Pediatric Infectious Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Taghi
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Arzanian
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Infectious Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navidinia
authors.affiliation: Students' Scientific Research Center (SSRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Siamak Mehdizadeh
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Seraj
keywords: Hepatitis C virus; Thalassemia; Torque teno virus
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