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- Title
Hepatitis G Virus: Prevalence and Sequence Analysis in Blood Donors of São Paulo, Brazil.
- Authors
Bassit, Leda; Kleter, Bernhard; Ribeiro-dos-Santos, Gabriela; Maertens, Geert; Sabino, Ester; Chamone, Dalton; Quint, Wim; Sáez-Alquézar, Amadeo
- Abstract
Background and objectives: Hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a recently discovered viral agent transmitted by blood, which was firstly identified in patients with acute or chronic liver disease. HGV prevalence in US blood donors was recently found to average 1-2%. We report a much higher HGV frequency among blood donors of São Paulo, Brazil. Materials and methods: 200 serum samples were submitted to RT-PCR using primers directed to the 5′ untranslated region and nonstructural 5A (NS5A) region. PCR products were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and Southern blot hybridization. Results: Of the 200 specimens, 18 (9%; 95% CI 5.4-13.8%) were positive by both sets of primers. Sequence analysis of the NS5A PCR products revealed a homology of 96.3%. Of the 18 HGV-positive symples, only one was positive for anti-HBc and all were anti-HCV- and HCV-RNA-negative. Conclusion: Such a high prevalence of HGV in a nonsymptomatic population suggests that this is a benign agent.
- Publication
Vox Sanguinis, 1998, Vol 74, Issue 2, p83
- ISSN
0042-9007
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1159/000030910