Investigation of SEN Virus Infection in Patients with Cryptogenic Acute Liver Failure, Hepatitis-Associated Aplastic Anemia, or Acute and Chronic Non–A–E Hepatitis

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 188; no. 10; pp. 1545 - 1552
• Main Authors: Umemura, Takeji, Tanaka, Eiji, Ostapowicz, George, Brown, Kevin E., Heringlake, Stefan, Tassopoulos, Nicolaos C., Wang, Richard Y.-H., Yeo, Anthony E. T., Shih, J. Wai-Kuo, Orii, Koji, Young, Neal S., Hatzakis, Angelos, Manns, Michael P., Lee, William M., Kiyosawa, Kendo, Alter, Harvey J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.11.2003; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Acute liver failure; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Anemia, Aplastic - epidemiology; Anemia, Aplastic - virology; Aplastic anemia; Biological and medical sciences; Blood donation; Blood transfusion; Child; Chronic hepatitis; Circoviridae - genetics; Circoviridae - growth & development; Circoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Circoviridae Infections - virology; DNA, Viral - chemistry; DNA, Viral - genetics; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Germany - epidemiology; Greece - epidemiology; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis Viruses - growth & development; Hepatitis, Chronic - epidemiology; Hepatitis, Chronic - virology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Japan - epidemiology; Liver diseases; Liver Failure, Acute - epidemiology; Liver Failure, Acute - virology; Male; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Middle Aged; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Prevalence; SEN virus; Torque teno virus; United States - epidemiology; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis; Viruses; Greece; United States; Japan; Germany; Human; Microbiology; Acute; Aplastic anemia; Hepatic disease; Hemopathy; Infection; Viral hepatitis A; Chronic; Liver failure; Viral disease; Digestive diseases; Viral hepatitis E
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/379216

SEN virus (SENV) has been tentatively linked to transfusion-associated non–A–E hepatitis. We investigated SENV’s role in unexplained hepatitis in other settings. Polymerase chain reaction amplification was used to detect 2 SENV variants (SENV-D and SENV-H) in 1706 patients and control subjects. SENV was detected in 54 (22%) of 248 patients with acute or chronic non–A–E hepatitis, 9 (35%) of 26 patients with hepatitis-associated aplastic anemia, and 0 of 17 patients with cryptogenic acute liver failure, compared with 150 (24%) of 621 control subjects with liver disease and 76 (10%) of 794 healthy control subjects. When controlling for geographic region, the prevalence of SENV among case and control subjects was not significantly different. The severity of acute or chronic hepatitis A, B, or C was not influenced by coexisting SENV infection. No etiological role for SENV in the cause of cryptogenic hepatitis could be demonstrated