Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies have reported commonly distributed transfusion-transmitted virus (TTV) in different populations with parental risk factors, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Objectives: This study was performed to determine and compare the prevalence of TTV infection among HIV-positive patients and healthy blood donors. Patients and Methods: A total of 186 HIV patients and 165 healthy blood donors with no markers of HIV infection were included in this study during 2004 - 2012. Semi-nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay was performed for the detection of TTV DNA. HBV surface antigen (HBsAg), Hepatitis C Virus Antibody (HCVAb), and CD4 were investigated in the sera of HIV-positive subjects. Aspartate transaminase (AST) and Alanine transaminase (ALT) levels were also measured. Results: The mean age of HIV-positive and healthy subjects was 39.3 and 40.5 years, respectively. In total, 182 (97.9%) subjects were male and 4 (2.1%) were female. TTV DNA was detected in 35 out of 186 HIV patients (18.8%; 95% CI, 13.2 - 24.4%). The prevalence of TTV in the HIV group was significantly higher (P = 0.027) than blood donors (11%; 95% CI, 6.2 - 15.8%). Age, marital status, unsafe sexual activity, and use of injection drugs were not significantly associated with the prevalence of TTV infection in HIV patients. Conclusions: Considering the higher frequency of TTV infection in HIV patients in comparison to healthy blood donors, HIV infection may be an important risk factor for TTV infection. In addition, the lower frequency of TTV infection in healthy individuals in comparison to HIV patients reveals the transmission of TTV infection via routes other than blood and drug injection; therefore, the effect of fecal-oral route needs to be examined in future studies.

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