Investigation of Oral Shedding of Torquetenovirus (TTV) in Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 Hospitalised Patients
- Caixeta, Rafael Antônio Velôso
- Batista, Alexandre Mendes
- Caetano, Matheus Willian
- Palmieri, Michelle
- Schwab, Gabriela
- Zerbinati, Rodrigo Melim
- Victor, Andressa Silva Pereira
- Gallo, Camila de Barros
- Tozetto-Mendoza, Tânia Regina
- Junges, Roger
- Ortega, Karem L.
- Costa, André Luiz Ferreira
- Sarmento, Dmitry José de Santana
- Pallos, Débora
- Lindoso, José Angelo Lauletta
- Giannecchini, Simone
- Braz-Silva, Paulo Henrique
ISSN: 1999-4915
Year of publication: 2024
Volume: 16
Issue: 6
Pages: 831
Type: Article
More publications in: Viruses
Abstract
Background. Torquetenovirus (TTV) is a small DNA virus constituting the human virome. High levels of TTV-DNA have been shown to be associated with immunosuppression and inflammatory chronic disorders. Aim. To assess the possible association between the salivary viral load of TTV-DNA in patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 and disease severity. Methods. Saliva samples collected from 176 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 were used to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and TTV-DNA by use of real-time RT-PCR. Results. The majority of patients were male with severe COVID-19. Presence of SARS-CoV-2 was observed in the saliva of 64.77% of patients, showing TTV-DNA in 55.68% of them. Patients with impaired clinical conditions (p < 0.001), which evolved to death (p = 0.003), showed a higher prevalence of TTV-DNA. The median viral load in patients with severe condition was 4.99 log10 copies/mL, in which those who were discharged and those evolving to death had values of 3.96 log10 copies/mL and 6.27 log10 copies/mL, respectively. A statistically significant association was found between the distribution of TTV-DNA viral load in saliva samples and severity of COVID-19 (p = 0.004) and disease outcomes (p < 0.001). Conclusions. These results indicate that TTV-DNA in saliva could be a useful biomarker of COVID-19 severity and prognosis.