GBV-C/HGV infection in hepatitis C virus-infected deferred Swedish blood donors

Summary, in English

Sera from 62 hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected Swedish blood donors were tested by a nested polymerase chain reaction using primers targeting the 5'-noncoding region of the GB virus-C/hepatitis G (GBV-C/HGV) genome and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that detects antibodies to the envelope protein E2 of GBV-C/HGV (anti-E2). Fourteen (22%) and 21 (34%) of the 62 blood donors were found to be GBV-C/HGV RNA and anti-E2 positive, respectively. None of the blood donors was positive for both GBV-C/HGV RNA and anti-E2. Thus, 35 of 62 (56%) HCV-infected donors had been exposed to GBV-C/HGV infection. At sequencing of the 14 GBV-C/HGV isolates, 12 were identified as subtype 2a and 2 as subtype 2b. One of 7 (14%) donors with mild liver disease such as steatosis and nonspecific reactive hepatitis had been exposed to GBV-C/HGV vs. 34 of 55 (62%) with chronic hepatitis with or without cirrhosis (P = 0.04). All other differences in histology were small between HCV and dual HCV GBV-C/HGV-infected donors. In conclusion, more than half of HCV-infected Swedish blood donors in this study were positive for either GBV-C/HGV RNA or anti-E2. GBV-C/HGV viremia and seropositivity were mutually exclusive.

• Author: S Shev; Per Björkman; G Norkrans; U Foberg; A Fryden; G Lindh; A Lindholm; O Weiland; Anders Widell
• Department/s: Infectious Diseases Research Unit; Clinical Microbiology, Malmö
• Publishing year: 1998
• Language: English
• Pages: 75-79
• Publication/Series: Journal of Medical Virology
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199802)54:2<75::AID-JMV1>3.0.CO;2-L
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
• Topic: Microbiology in the medical area
• Keywords: HGV; HCV; GBV-C; anti-E2; blood donors; chronic hepatitis
• Status: Published
• Research group: Infectious Diseases Research Unit; Clinical Microbiology, Malmö
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1096-9071