Study on genotyping and coinfection rate of human parvovirus 4 among the HTLV-I/II infected blood donors in Khorasan Razavi, Iran

• Published in: Heliyon 2023-11, Vol.9 (11), p.e21406-e21406, Article e21406
• Main Authors: Ramezany, Hooman, Kheirandish, Maryam, Sharifi, Zohreh, Samiee, Shahram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Co-infection; Human parvovirus 4; human T-lymphotropic virus I/II; Phylogenetics studies; Real-time PCR
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21406

Human Parvovirus 4 (PARV4) is an emerging virus infecting individuals with other blood-borne diseases. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of PARV4 in confirmed HTLVI/II positive samples from blood donors, assessing PARV4 viral load (DNA) and genotyping. Methods: A novel qReal-Time PCR, based on a plasmid construct, was developed to simultaneously detect all three PARV4 genotypes using in-house primers and probes. Positive qPCR samples were subjected to nested PCR amplification and subsequent sequencing. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using the Neighbor-joining (N.J.) method. Results: The coinfection rate of PARV4-DNA in HTLVI/II confirmed infected donors, who were previously deferred, was 14.4 % (13 out of 90), with no observed association with donation status (p = 1.0). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PARV4-positive samples closely resembled genotype 2 in Iran.qPCR quantification demonstrated significant PARV4 viral loads in positive samples, ranging between 104 and 106 DNA copies/mL of serum. Conclusion: This study presents the first evaluation of HTLVI/II and PARV4coinfection rates among blood donors. Notably, elevated PARV4-DNA titers were detected in HTLVI/II-positive donors. Given PARV's resistance to standard plasma refinery inactivation methods and the absence of its targeted inactivation, its potential impact remains a concern.