Hepatitis G virus in Egyptians infected with other parenterally transmitted hepatitis viruses

A novel hepatitis-associated virus, hepatitis G virus (HGV) has recently been identified. The virus is known to be parenterally transmitted and has been found frequently in subjects chronically infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). We investigated the seroprevalence of HGV infection in 91 Egyptians infected with hepatitis C and/or B virus including 52 patients with chronic liver disease and 39 asymptomatic subjects. A newly developed immunoassay was used to detect antibody to HGV envelope protein E2. The overall prevalence of anti-HGV in study subjects was 34.1%. Hepatitis G virus antibody was more frequent in patients with chronic liver disease (36.4%-43.9%) than in asymptomatic persons (23.1%). Analysis of demographic features, risk factors and clinical history of the study population revealed that older age and history of schistosomiasis were the factors significantly associated with anti-HGV positivity. The study demonstrated that HGV is highly prevalent in individuals infected with other parenterally transmitted hepatitis viruses. The impact of such observation rises in view of the endemicity of hepatitis C and B viruses in Egypt.