Prevalence of TT Virus Infection in US Blood Donors and Populations at Risk for Acquiring Parenterally Transmitted Viruses

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 179; no. 5; pp. 1242 - 1244
• Main Authors: Desai, Suresh M., Muerhoff, A. Scott, Leary, Thomas P., Erker, James C., Simons, John N., Chalmers, Michelle L., Birkenmeyer, Larry G., Pilot-Matias, Tami J., Mushahwar, Isa K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 01-05-1999; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Blood donation; Blood Donors; Concise Communications; DNA Primers; DNA Virus Infections - complications; DNA Virus Infections - epidemiology; DNA Virus Infections - virology; DNA viruses; DNA Viruses - genetics; DNA Viruses - isolation & purification; DNA, Viral - analysis; Epidemiology; Flaviviridae - genetics; Flaviviridae - isolation & purification; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GB virus C; Genotypes; Hepatitis; Hepatitis Viruses - genetics; Hepatitis Viruses - isolation & purification; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - complications; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - epidemiology; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - virology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Polymerase chain reaction; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Prevalence; Sensitivity and Specificity; Substance Abuse, Intravenous - complications; Torque teno virus; TT virus; United States - epidemiology; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Virology; Viruses; Volunteerism; United States; North America; America; Human; Drug addiction; Prevalence; Intravenous administration; TT virus; Viremia; Hepatic disease; Epidemiology; Parenteral administration; Infection; Virus; Polymerase chain reaction; Viral hepatitis; Viral disease; Digestive diseases; Transmission from man to man; Blood donor
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/314735

Two overlapping sets of TT virus (TTV)—specific polymerase chain reaction primers were used to test for presence of TTV, which was found in approximately 10% of US volunteer blood donors, 13% of commercial blood donors, and 17% of intravenous drug abusers. The rate of TTV infection among US non-A, non-B, non-C, non-D, non-E hepatitis patients was only 2%. Among commercial blood donors and intravenous drug abusers, only 1%–3% of the TTV-positive individuals were coinfected with GB virus C (GBV-C), a parenterally transmitted virus. This suggests that GBV-C and TTV may have different routes of transmission. Comparison of the sensitivities of 2 TTV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer sets showed that the majority of samples were detected with only 1 of the 2 sets. Therefore, previous studies in which only a single PCR primer pair was used may have significantly underestimated the true prevalence of TTV.