Prevalence and clinical significance of SEN virus infection among volunteer blood donors in southern Taiwan.

Of the eight different isolates of SEN virus (SENV), SENV-D and SENV-H have been suggested associated with transfusion-associated hepatitis. The prevalence and clinical significance of these two SENV strains among blood donors in southern Taiwan were investigated in this study. Sera of 223 blood donors who were negative for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and third-generation HCV antibody (anti-HCV) from a blood center of southern Taiwan were tested for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) anti-envelope protein 2 (anti-E2) antibody and RNA, and SENV-D and -H DNA. Of the 223 donors, the prevalence of SENV-D and/or -H (SENV-D/H), SENV-D, SENV-H DNA, GBV-C/HGV RNA, and anti-E2 were 24.2, 19.7, 5.8, 2.2, and 8.5%. The donors with SENV-D DNA had a significantly higher mean age than those without (31.2 +/- 10.9 vs. 27.5 +/- 8.3 years; P = 0.014). No association between positive SENV DNA and gender, GBV-C/HGV exposure, mean ALT level, or abnormal ALT was found. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, the increased age was the only independent factor associated with positive SENV-D DNA (odds ratio, 1.042; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.08). Nearly a fourth of blood donors in southern Taiwan were infected by SENV-D/H, with SENV-D more prevalent than SENV-H. Patients with higher ages have a higher prevalence of SENV-D. SENV-D or SENV-H infection was not associated with ALT levels.