TT virus infection in Thailand: prevalence in blood donors and patients with aplastic anemia.

Aplastic anemia has been reported to occur after viral hepatitis of unknown etiology. Recently, TT virus (TTV), a novel DNA virus, was identified in a Japanese patient with posttransfusion non-A-E hepatitis. The prevalence of TTV infection was investigated among blood donors and patients with aplastic anemia in Thailand. Of 99 blood samples from blood donors, 37 tested positive for TTV DNA via semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using TTV-specific primers. Seventeen percent of samples from blood donors younger than 20 were positive for TTV DNA, whereas 48% from donors older than 20 were positive. The high prevalence of TTV infection in Thailand is comparable to that reported in China (28%), Mongolia (43%), and Egypt (29%). Forty-two percent of newly diagnosed aplastic anemia patients tested also had TTV DNA in blood. The detection rate of TTV DNA in aplastic anemia patients does not differ significantly from rates in normal blood donors. Our present data thus argue against the role of this novel hepatitis-associated virus in the pathogenesis of aplastic anemia in Thailand. However, larger epidemiological studies may be needed to further evaluate their association.