title: Prevalence of anelloviruses (TTV, TTMDV, and TTMV) in healthy blood donors and in patients infected with HBV or HCV in Qatar.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anelloviruses (TTV, TTMV, and TTMDV) have been associated with non A-G hepatitis. The goal of the current study was to estimate the prevalence of these anelloviruses in Qatar.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 607 blood samples (500 healthy donors, and 53 HBV-and 54 HCV-positive patients) representing different nationalities were tested for the presence of TTV, TTMV, and TTMDV DNA by nested PCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence rates for the three viruses were high in all studied groups, and exceeding 95% in the HBV group (for TTV and TTMDV). Infection with more than one type of viruses was common and significant in most of the positive patients (p < 0.05) and ranging from 55.4% for TTV/TTMV and TTMV/TTMDV co-infections in the healthy group, to 96.3% for TTV/TTMV co-infections in the HBV group. Further, and as with most previous studies, no significant association was found between anelloviruses infections and age, nationality, or gender (p > 0.05) albeit the detection of higher infection rates among females and Qatari subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This was the first published study to look at prevalence of Anellowviruses in the Middle East. High prevalence rates of the three viruses in all studied groups was noted. Further studies are needed to explore and compare the different genotypes of these viruses in the region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Alfaisal University School of Medicine, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.|Liver Disease Research Center, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Qahtani
authors.affiliation: Department Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.|Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Enas S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Alabsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
authors.forename: Raed
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: AbuOdeh
authors.affiliation: Department Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Lukman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thalib
authors.affiliation: Virology and Microbiology Research Laboratory & Antibiotic Research Unit, School of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal, University Rd, Westville Campus, Durban, 4000, South Africa.
authors.forename: Mohamed E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: El Zowalaty
authors.affiliation: Department Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar. gheyath.nasrallah@qu.edu.qa.|Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar. gheyath.nasrallah@qu.edu.qa.
authors.forename: Gheyath K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Nasrallah
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D049811:Anelloviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology*; D001782:Blood Donors; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008877:Middle East; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011780:Qatar / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Anelloviruses; HBV; HCV; PCR