Elevated post-transfusion serum transaminase values associated with a highly significant trend for increasing prevalence of anti-Vesivirus antibody in Korean patients.

A highly significant increase in anti-Vesivirus (family Caliciviridae) antibody prevalence, along the axis from healthy blood donors; donors with elevated transaminase; patients with clinical hepatitis; and patients with post-transfusion/dialysis hepatitis, has been reported in human sera from the USA and Europe. Asian samples have now been tested retrospectively using serology and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) with a Vesivirus partial-capsid antigen expressed as a fusion protein. Anti-vesiviral antibodies were measured by optical densities (OD(650)) and compared in patients separated by age, gender and Groups A-F as follows: Control Group A, an Experimental Group B, which was divided further into Group C, patients with elevated enzymes (alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GT); Group D, patients receiving transfused blood; Group E, patients with high enzyme levels after transfusion; and Group F, hepatitis B and C positive patients. Using multivariate logistic regression analyses, a significantly greater proportion of patients receiving transfusion(s), were positive for anti-Vesivirus antibody compared with non-transfused patients (P = 0.008; OR: 3.86, 95% CI: 1.43-10.43). Also, anti-Vesivirus antibody was significantly associated with elevated biochemical liver function tests: ALT ≥ 20 IU or AST ≥ 120 IU (P = 0.017; OR: 4.23, 95% CI: 1.30-13.80). In the blood transfusion group, anti-Vesivirus antibody was significantly correlated with high enzyme levels (ALT, P = 0.018; AST, P = 0.010; γ-GT, P = 0.020). These data provide serologic evidence of vesiviral transfusion-transmission-associated disease, which could include infection of any organ system where cytopathology resulted in high levels of either ALT or AST.