Investigation of saliva, faeces, urine or semen samples for the presence of GBV-C RNA

GBV-C/HGV has been demonstrated to be distributed worldwide with a prevalence in blood donors higher than HCV. This distribution in the general population probably requires an effective non-parenteral route of transmission. A previous study was performed to evaluate the presence of GBV-C/HGV in serum. Saliva, faeces and urine samples of 30 patients (15 males and 15 females) and 15 semen samples from patients whose serum gave a GBV-C/HGV RNA positive result were then tested by a sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Five semen supernatant samples (33.3%) tested positive – four of them belonged to HIV positive patients – and two saliva samples contained GBV-C/HGV sequences (6.6%) – one from a HIV-positive patient. An internal control was used to detect PCR non-specific inhibitors in the samples. The data suggest possible non-parenteral routes of transmission from this virus. Its presence in body fluids other than serum has clinical implications other than possible hepatic damage that remain to be investigated.     

GBV-C/HGV, a new virus as one possible cause of hepatitis of unknown etiology

For etiologically obscure (some 4%) viral hepatitis agents are sought and tested to make elucidation of their cause possible. One of the candidates is since 1995 the newly discovered virus GBV-C/HGV. Despite intense research its relationship to viral hepatitis of obscure origin (VHN) has not been elucidated so far. In the submitted paper the authors attempted to contribute to the elucidation of etiological associations of GBV-C/HGV infection and VHN by comparing the dynamics of markers of the infection in a group of 59 patients with VHN, two control groups exposed to a high risk of parenteral operations and a third comparative group. The first control group comprised 64 patients in a long-term haemodialyzation programme (HD), the second group was formed by 82 patients with haematooncological disease (BD). The third comparative group comprised 22 patients coinfected (CI) with virus of hepatitis C (VHC), or possibly hepatitis B (VHB). The patients with VHN were HBsAg, anti HCV and anti HEV negative. In the majority in the first blood sample transaminases were elevated which was one of the main reasons for examination of GBV-C/HGV RNA. Prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection, proved by the presence of at least one of the two markers of current or past infection (GBV-C/HGV RNA, antiGBV-C/HGV) was in the compared VHN, HD and BD groups as follows: 88.1%, 59.4% and 43.9%. The frequency of GBV-C/HGV positivity was highest in VHN-76.3%. In control groups HD and BD GBV-C/HGV RNA positivity was substantially lower, 18.8% and 25.6% resp. Long-term continuous viraemia was recorded in patients with VHN in 18.6%. In groups HD and BD it was half that value: 9.3% and 9.18%. In patients with VHN surprisingly after 6.5 months a marked rise of negative findings occurred (5.6x) without the expected increase of antibodies. A similar finding was recorded also in the other groups (HD and BD), incl. CI patients. Disappearance of viraemia was observed most frequently in VHN (55.9%). In groups HD and BD GBV-C/HGV RNA disappeared only in 7.8% and 12.1% resp. In treated patients of the CI group viral RNA was present in 45.5% and it disappeared in 36.4%. On the other hand, seroconversion to antibodies was comparable in VHN, HD and BD (11.9%, 9.4%, 8.5%), only in group CI it was higher (18.2%), obviously in conjunction with treatment of concurrent HCV or HBV infection. Disappearance of viraemia without subsequent seroconversion occurs in GBV-C/HGV infection frequently, the highest rate was observed by the authors in patients with VHN. Disappearance of viraemia does not necessarily imply clearance of GBV-C/HGV but may be due to a change of GBV-C(HGV into a state of persistence without positive laboratory markers of the infection. Persistence of the virus could also be the reason of the assumed conditioned pathogenicity of the virus, and the effect of frequent disappearance of both markers could explain some controversial epidemiological observations when in studies only static data without dynamic associations were used.     

The prevalence of TT virus and GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection in individuals with raised liver enzymes but without HBV or HCV infection in Taiwan

The prevalence of TT virus (TTV) and GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection and the association with raised liver function tests in 546 Taiwanese with negative HBsAg, anti-HCV and HCV RNA was elucidated. They were tested for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), GBV-C/HGV RNA, anti-envelope protein 2 antibody (anti-E2) and TTV DNA. Direct sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were performed on 58 isolates for TTV genotype determination. The prevalence of TTV DNA, GBV-C/HGV RNA, anti-E2 and over all GBV-C/HGV exposure was 24.9, 3.4, 8.2 and 11.1%, respectively. Using uni- and multi-variate analyses, male gender and TTV viremia were associated significantly with raised ALT values. Sixty-nine percent of TTV isolates were deduced to be TTV genotype 1 and they had significantly lower mean age than genotype non-1 isolates. In the population, raised ALT may be related to male gender and be attributable to TTV infection but not to GBV-C/HGV among individuals with no evidence of current HBV and HCV infection. TTV genotype 1 is the most prevalent genotype and associated with younger age.     

庚型肝炎病毒在肝炎及肝癌患者中感染情况

为研究庚型肝炎病毒在乙型肝炎、丙型肝炎、非甲—戊型肝炎及原发肝癌患者中的感染情况 ,选择临床肝炎患者血清及肝癌手术病人的术前血清、肝癌组织及癌旁组织。采用HGV RT PCR法检测标本中HGVRNA。结果 ,在临床乙型肝炎、丙型肝炎、非甲—戊型肝炎及肝癌手术病人中庚型肝炎感染率分别为 9% ( 12 / 130 )、10 % ( 3/ 30 )、17% ( 4 / 2 4 )、0 % ( 0 / 2 4 )。证明庚型肝炎是普遍存在的一种肝炎病毒 ,并与乙型肝炎、丙型肝炎有较高的重叠感染率 ,而与肝癌的相关性不大。     

HBV、HCV和HGV的感染对HCC家庭聚集性的影响

为了研究乙、丙、庚型肝炎病毒感染在原发性肝癌家庭聚集性中的作用，本文应用PCR方法对肝癌病、低发家庭成员进行了HBV-DNA、HCV-RNA和HGV-RNA检测。结果发现，高发户成员和无癌户成员中HBV-DNA和HGV-RNA的阳性率分别为21．8％（12／55）、36．4％（20／55）和7．3％（4／55）、14．5％（8／55）（P＜0．01）。HCV-RNA阳性率分别为10．9％（6／55）和21．8％（12／55）（P＞0．05）。HBV＋HCV、HCV＋HGV、HGV＋HBV、HBV＋HCV＋HGV的重叠感染率分别为3．6％（2／55）、3．6％（2／55）、14．5％（8／55）、3．6％（2／55）和1．8％（1／55）、9．1％（5／55）、1．8％（1／55）、0．0％（0／55），其中HBV＋HGV重叠感染模式两组有明显差异（P＜0．05），其余各模式无明显差异。结果提示，HBV和HGV的感染可能是HCC家庭聚集原因之一，而HBV＋HGV重叠感染模式较其他模式与HCC家庭聚集性关系更为密切。     

Hepatitis G virus/GBV-C in serum,peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bone marrow in patients with hematological malignancies

BackgroundHGV/GBV-C is highly prevalent in the general population but its significance remains unclear. It is known that HGV/GBV-C is not primary hepatotropic and its replication was reported in PBMC, bone marrow and other tissues. To investigate a possible role of HGV/GBV-C 115 consecutive patients with hematological malignancies were analyzed for virus RNA presence and quasispecies composition in three compartments: serum, PBMC and bone marrow.MethodsRT-PCR was used to amplify 5′UTR HGV/GBV-C in serum, PBMC and bone marrow. Viral sequences obtained from three compartments were subjected for comparative molecular analysis performed by single strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and pyrosequencing.ResultsHGV/GBV-C RNA was detected in 23 out of 115 (20.0%) patients, most often in bone marrow (18 patients), followed by PBMC (11 patients) and serum (10 patients). Differences in SSCP bands distribution corresponding to different viral variants and confirmed by direct sequencing were observed in three patients.ConclusionHGV/GBV-C infection is frequent in patients with hematological malignancies. Common detection of HGV/GBV-C in bone marrow supports the hypothesis that it is a major replication site of this virus.     

Iatrogenic GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection in an area endemic for hepatitis C virus

GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) is reported to be transmitted by blood products. This study reports infection with GBV-C/HGV from Area-O of town T, an area of high prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). Four hundred and thirty-five inhabitants of Area-O in town T were examined. Three hundred and forty-three inhabitants of Area-H in town T (where differences of age or sex are not markedly different to Area-O) were studied as controls. We investigated the virus markers and conducted a survey of life history in both areas. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV and GBV-C/HGV markers in Area-O was 17.7% and 11.7%, significantly higher than in Area-H (1.5% and 4.4%). The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV markers was significantly higher in the anti-HCV-positive group than in the sero-negative group. Anti-HCV- or GBV-C/HGV positive subjects tended to have a history of intravenous medications at hospital C in town T, suggesting iatrogenic infection through insufficient sterilization of needles and/or syringes.     

Viral co-infections in hepatitis C: HBV, HBV-C/HGV and TTV studies

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of co-infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and novel hepatitis viruses GBV-C (Hepatitis G virus, HGV) and TT virus (TTV) in chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection has been studied. In patients with chronic hepatitis C and in asymptomatic healthy HCV carriers, the influence of these agents on the course of HCV infection was assessed. METHODS: a total of 110 HCV-positive individuals, among them 77 patients with chronic hepatitis C--50 of them treated with interferon (IFN)--and 33 HCV carriers with normal alanine aminotransferase have been investigated. HBV-DNA, HGV RNA and TTV DNA were detected by PCR, to determine HBsAg and anti-HBc ELISA technic has been used. RESULTS: In the healthy population, the prevalence of anti-HCV was 0.3%, HBsAg 0.09%, anti-HBc 2.5%, HGV RNA 8.0% and TTV DNA 18.5%, respectively. In chronic hepatitis C HBsAg (accompanied with HBV-DNA) occurred in 1.29%, anti-HBc 25.97%, HGV RNA in 9.09% and TTV DNA in 40.25% of cases. In IFN-treated patients with sustained remission, the frequency of TTV was 20% vs. 45.7% found in non-responders. Among asymptomatic HCV-carriers, the prevalence of anti-HBc was 27.27%, HGV RNA 9.09% and TTV DNA 75.7% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Neither previous HBV infection, nor HGV RNA and TTV DNA had apparent effect on the course of chronic HCV infection. TTV was detected with the lowest frequency in persons with sustained remission due to IFN, suggesting antiviral effect of IFN on TTV.     

Manifestations extrahépatiques au cours de l’infection par le GBV-C/HGV

The GBV-C/HGV virus has clearly established transmission modes, mainly blood contamination, and occasionally sexual transmission. It is frequently found among transfused patients, intravenous drug abusers, and hemodialysis patients and often associated with HCV. Its hepatic pathogenicity is very weak, marked by a moderate and transitory cytolysis. Chronic carriage is possible, but does not lead to chronic hepatitis. Carriage can be maintained before the virus disappears. The authors report the case of a patient presenting with pleuropericarditis after a blood transfusion without any other etiology than infection by GBV-C/HGV virus. The possible extrahepatic pathogenicity of the virus is suggested. This hypothesis was rarely put forward.     

乙型肝炎患者重叠感染丙型肝炎、庚型肝炎病毒的研究

[目的 ]了解乙型肝炎患者重叠感染丙型肝炎病毒 (HCV)、庚型肝炎病毒 (HGV)的情况。 [方法 ]应用 EL ISA法分别对 86 8例乙肝患者、5 17例乙肝病毒携带者检测血清抗 - HCV和抗 - HGV,应用逆转录聚合酶链反应法分别对HCV、HGV感染者进行血清 HCV- RNA、HGV- RNA检测 ,并与乙肝病毒携带者比较。 [结果 ]乙肝患者与乙肝病毒携带者 HCV感染率分别为 14.5 %、2 .3% ,HGV感染率分别为 15 .6 %、3.9% ,HCV和 HGV的重叠感染率分别为 2 .3%、0 .2 % ,两组间 HCV、HGV合并感染率均有非常显著性差异 (P<0 .0 1)。乙肝患者中 HCV感染者 HCV- RNA阳性率14.3% ,HGV感染者 HGV- RNA阳性率 11.9%。 [结论 ]乙型肝炎、丙型肝炎、庚型肝炎可以重叠感染。急慢性乙型肝炎患者的 HCV、HGV重叠感染率不同。     

广西85例肝癌患者庚型肝炎病毒感染的血清学研究

对肝癌高发区的８５例患者血清采用套式ＰＣＲ方法检测认型肝炎病毒核糖核酸（ＨＧＶ－ＲＮＡ），并用相同方法检测了ＨＣＶ－ＲＮＡ；ＨＢＶ－ＤＮＡ则采用单次ＰＣＲ检测，阴性者再用套式ＰＣＲ证实。结果提示：８５例肝癌患者中，１１例患者可检出ＨＧＶＲＮＡ，占和的１２．９％，而ＨＣＶ－ＲＮＡ，ＨＢＶ－ＤＮＡ阳性者分别为１５例及６８例，占１７．６％和８０％。初步证明文本部分肝癌病人血清中存在ＧＶ感染，作者认为：Ｈ     

Detection of HGV in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of maintenance haemodialysis patients.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) and also hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in maintenance haemodialysis patients, and to identify extrahepatic sites as HGV reservoirs. HGV RNA was detected in the serum of 6/61 (10%) patients and in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 2/61 (3%) patients (one of whom was serum negative). These findings suggest that lymphoid cells constitute an extrahepatic HGV reservoir. HCV RNA was detected in 7/61 (11%) patients. Five of these patients (71%) were identified as carrying HCV genotype 1b. Co-infection with HCV and HGV was detected only in one patient. Haemodialysis patients are at risk for HGV infection, by nosocomial routes or via transfusions. HGV itself does not seem to be an important cause of hepatitis since all six HGV RNA positive patients not co-infected by HCV or HBV showed normal ALT values.     

Demonstration of HCV-RNA and HBV-DNA in the serum of HBsAg negative patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Forty patients with chronic liver disease and HCC were analyzed for infection with hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV) viruses. All patients were negative for HBsAg, 16 were alcoholics, 6 had previous blood transfusions and 18 had sporadic chronic hepatitis. Antibodies to HCV were determined by EIA 2nd generation. HBV-DNA was detected by PCR using primers of the precore region. Analysis of HCV-RNA was done with nested PCR amplifying the 5 non-coding region of the HCV genome, using primers complementary to nucleotides 1–20 and 305–320 and nested primers complementary to nucleotides 21–31 and 271–286 of the HCV-J1. Anti-HCV were positive in 35/40 patients (87.5%). HCV-RNA was detected by PCR in 34 patients (85%) all of them positive for the anti-HCV. HCV-RNA was detected in 70.5% of the alcohol abusers, in 100% of patients with history of transfusion(s) and 94.1% of patients with cryptogenic chronic liver disease. HBV-DNA was detected in only 2 patients. In conclusion, there is a high rate of HCV and a low rate of HBV viremia detected by PCR in Spanish patients with HCC HBsAg negative. No patient without anti-HCV presents HCV-RNA. Our results suggest that persistent HCV replication may play a role in hepatic carcinogenesis, as HBV-DNA could be found in only 5% of our HCC patients.This work was presented in part at the Biennial Scientific Meeting of the IASL (Brighton 1992) and at the 27th EASL meeting (Vienna 1992)     

湖北吸毒人群中HIV、HBV、HCV、HGV、TTV感染情况调查

目的 了解湖北吸毒人群中HIV、HBV、HCV、HGV及TTV感染情况。方法 对湖北某戒毒所及本科室门诊的吸毒者进行调查并采静脉血分离血清作抗HIV、HBsAg、抗HCV、抗HGv、抗TTV检测。结果 89例吸毒者中，发现HIV阳性2例，阳性率为2．2％；FIBsAg阳性9例，阳性率为10．1％；HCV阳性51例，阳性率为57．3％；HGV阳性48例，阳性率为53．9％；42例吸毒者检查TTV，阳性25例，阳性率为59．5％。结论 在静脉吸毒人群中存在着较高的血传播病毒感染，且多为合并感染。湖北吸毒人群中的HIV感染尚为传入阶段，亟需采取有力措施控制HIV在吸毒人群中的传播。     

Vertical transmission of HGV and outcome of the infected babies

To assess the risk of HGV mother-to-infant transmission and the clinical outcome of infected babies, we investigated 103 mother-infant couples and followed-up the infected children for 4-72 months. Twenty (19.4%) mothers were HGV-RNA positive and transmission occurred in ten (50%) babies; only one child acquired HGV and HCV infection. Maternal factors, such as history of intravenous drug use, HCV-RNA positivity, HIV coinfection, type of delivery and type of feeding were not related to HGV transmission. One HGV infected baby showed a mild hepatitis when he was also infected by Cytomegalovirus. Two babies cleared HGV within the first year of life. The HGV transmission rate is elevated but HGV infection seems to be benign, at least in a short-term follow-up.     

Measures to reduce HIV infection have not been successful to reduce the prevalence of HCV in intravenous drug users

The objective of the study was to determine whether measures taken to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection also lead to a reduction in the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among intravenous drug users (IDU). Antibodies to HCV, HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) were determined in IDU who voluntarily attended AIDS prevention and information centres for the first time between 1990 and 1996. Of the 5473 IDU studied, determination of HCV was done in 3238 cases. The prevalence of antibodies to HCV was 85%. During the first period studied (1990–1992), the prevalence of antibodies to HCV was 84.5%, during the second (1993–1994) 84.1% and during the third (1995–1996) 87%; in the case of HBV the prevalence during the three periods was 74.5, 67.6 and 66.8% respectively, and for HIV it was 41.9, 38.8 and 36.6% respectively (RR: 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65–0.81). Among drug users addicted for less than 2 years, the trend of the prevalence of antibodies to HCV and HBV remained constant, while the prevalence of HIV infection decreased (RR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.42–0.89). Measures to prevent transmission of HIV in drug users do not lead to a reduction in the prevalence of HCV infection. Further study is necessary to obtain a better understanding of how HCV is transmitted among drug users in order to apply measures which are effective in preventing HCV infection.     

沈阳地区重型肝炎血清中庚型肝炎病毒核酸的检测

为调查重型肝炎的庚型肝炎病毒 ( HGV)的感染状况。我们应用逆转录 -巢式聚合酶链反应 ( Rt- nested PCR)检测了 4 9例重型肝炎患者血清中的庚型肝炎病毒核酸 ( HGV RNA)。结果显示 :8例 HGV RNA阳性 ( 16.3% ) ,其中 6例死亡 ( 75% ) ;8例 HGV感染的重型肝炎患者中 7例重叠感染乙型肝炎病毒 ( HBV)或丙型肝炎病毒 ( HCV) ,1例为单纯 HGV感染。提示 :HGV与其它肝炎病毒重叠感染及单纯 HGV感染均可引起重型肝炎 ;而且其临床表现较重 ,病死率高。     

Gbv-C RNA presence in several high-risk groups of Spain

GB virus C subtype (GBV-C) seems to share the same routes of transmission as other parenteral transmitted viruses. We have evaluated the prevalence of GBV-C in 247 patients with potential risk for GBV-C infection and in 91 healthy blood donors. The presence of GBV-C RNA was examined by polymerase chain reaction in serum samples. The 23.6% of parenteral drug users were GBV-C positive, 36.3% of them were also HIV infected. Moreover, 22.5 and 19% of sera from patients with HBV and HCV chronic hepatitis, respectively, but without apparent risk factors seemed GBV-C infected. Finally, the 6% of patients on hemodialysis were also positive. Therefore, these results suggest that GBV-C is transmitted by parenteral routes but other non-parenteral routes shared with HBV or HCV must be considered.     

广西某美沙酮维持治疗门诊HCV抗体阳性就诊者病毒载量及相关因素分析

目的 检测广西某美沙酮维持治疗(methadone maintenance treatment,MMT)门诊丙型肝炎病毒(hepatitis C,HCV)抗体阳性者的HCV病毒载量探讨其相关影响因素.方法 对广西南宁市MMT门诊HCV抗体阳性就诊者进行调查,收集一般人口学信息、吸毒及HIV感染情况等,并进行HCV病毒载...     

乙型、丙型、庚型肝炎病毒多重感染研究

目的探讨庚型肝炎感染患者是否存在双重感染和多重感染。方法应用庚型肝炎病毒（ＨＧＶ）ＮＳ３区逆转录聚合酶链反应技术检测了ＨＧＶ系列稀释的质控血清及ＡｂｂｏｔＧＢＶ－Ｃ参比样品中ＨＧＶＲＮＡ，并对９０例丙型肝炎病毒（ＨＣＶ）ＲＮＡ阳性和１２例乙型肝炎、丙型肝炎双重感染献血员进行了ＨＧＶＲＮＡ的检测。结果ＨＧＶ系列稀释质控血清１０－１～１０－５均为阳性；１０－６为阴性。２份ＡｂｂｏｔＧＢＶ－Ｃ样品均为ＨＧＶＲＮＡ阳性。９０例ＨＣＶＲＮＡ阳性样品中，８例ＨＧＶＲＮＡ阳性（１７．８％）；１２例乙、丙双重感染者中４例（４／１２）ＨＧＶＲＮＡ阳性。结论不仅存在ＨＣＶ及ＨＧＶ双重感染，也存在多重感染。