Hepatitis G virus infection in Amerindians and other Venezuelan high-risk groups

J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Feb;36(2):470-4. doi: 10.1128/JCM.36.2.470-474.1998.

Abstract

Recently, a new virus related to flaviviruses, the hepatitis G virus (HGV), or GBV-C virus, was discovered as a putative blood-borne human pathogen. HGV RNA (NS5 region) was amplified by reverse transcription-nested PCR in the sera of 6 of 64 (9%) hemodialysis patients; 2 of 80 (2.5%) West Yukpa Amerindians, a population with a high rate of HBV infection but negative for HCV infection; and 1 patient with an acute episode of non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis (NABCH). The patterns of single-strand conformation polymorphism of the amplified products were unique among different specimens and similar on follow-up for hemodialysis patients. All patients tested remained HGV RNA positive 1 and 2 years later, without major sequence variation, except for the NABCH patient, for whom a double infection and an apparent clearance of the original dominant variant was observed after 2 years. The sequences of the NS5 amplified products demonstrated 85 to 90% identity with other reported HGV sequences.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Base Sequence
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Flaviviridae / genetics
  • Flaviviridae / isolation & purification*
  • Hepatitis C / diagnosis
  • Hepatitis E / diagnosis
  • Hepatitis, Viral, Human / blood
  • Hepatitis, Viral, Human / diagnosis*
  • Hepatitis, Viral, Human / epidemiology*
  • Humans
  • Indians, South American
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
  • Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational
  • RNA, Viral / blood*
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • RNA, Viral / isolation & purification*
  • Renal Dialysis / adverse effects
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Venezuela / epidemiology

Substances

  • RNA, Viral

Associated data

  • GENBANK/U69615
  • GENBANK/U69616
  • GENBANK/U69617
  • GENBANK/U69618
  • GENBANK/U69619
  • GENBANK/U69620
  • GENBANK/U69621
  • GENBANK/U97577
  • GENBANK/U97578
  • GENBANK/U97579