Table 2.

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) DNA sequences identified by qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction in serum samples of healthy blood donors.

Cohort year	Number of serum samples	MCPyV tag-positive sample/sample analyzed (%)
18–45	96	0/96 (0%)
46–65	94	5/94 (5.3%)
18–65	190	5/190 (2.6%)

Human sera were from healthy blood donors. Statistical analysis was performed using the χ² test. The prevalence of MCPyV DNA sequences detected in the cohort of subjects 18–45 years old differs from that of the cohort of healthy individuals 46–65 years old, but it was not statistically significant; this result is due to the absence of MCPyV DNA-positive samples in the cohort of younger individuals (0 vs. 5.3%; P > 0.05).