High prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus infection among homosexual men infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1: Evidence for sexual transmission

• Published in: Journal of medical virology 1998-10, Vol.56 (2), p.123-127
• Main Authors: Nerurkar, Vivek R., Chua, Pong K., Hoffmann, Peter R., Dashwood, Wan-Mohaiza, Shikuma, Cecilia M., Yanagihara, Richard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alanine Transaminase - blood; Biological and medical sciences; DNA, Complementary - analysis; Female; Flaviviridae - isolation & purification; GBV-C; HCV; Hepacivirus - isolation & purification; Hepatitis C - complications; Hepatitis C - epidemiology; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - complications; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - diagnosis; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - epidemiology; Hepatitis, Viral, Human - transmission; HGV; HIV; HIV Infections - complications; HIV-1; homosexual; Homosexuality, Male; Human viral diseases; Humans; IDU; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; PCR; Prevalence; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Risk-Taking; RNA, Viral; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sexual Behavior; Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral - epidemiology; Substance Abuse, Intravenous; Viral diseases; Viral hepatitis
• ISSN: 0146-6615; 1096-9071
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9071(199810)56:2<123::AID-JMV4>3.0.CO;2-A

GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV‐C/HGV), a recently discovered orphan flavivirus, is distantly related to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Although both GBV‐C/HGV and HCV can be transmitted by the parenteral route, their principal modes of transmission and associated risk behaviors may differ. Using reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, the 5′‐noncoding regions of GBV‐C/HGV and HCV were amplified from plasma or sera of 209 individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1). As verified by Southern blot analysis, GBV‐C/HGV and HCV infection were detected in 37 (17.7%) and 22 (10.5%) of 209 HIV‐1‐infected individuals, respectively. GBV‐C/HGV infection was significantly associated with homosexual sex (P = 0.044) and was more common than HCV infection among HIV‐1‐infected homosexual men (P = 0.006). The prevalence of GBV‐C/HGV infection was nearly equal in women infected with HIV‐1 via high‐risk heterosexual sex (14.0%) or injection drug use (IDU) (17.5%). By contrast, HCV infection was associated significantly with women reporting IDU when compared to women reporting high‐risk heterosexual sex (P < 0.0001). Alanine aminotransferase levels were elevated in HIV‐1‐infected individuals who were co‐infected with HCV (P = 0.009), but not with GBV‐C/HGV (P = 0.9). The high prevalence of GBV‐C/HGV infection in HIV‐1‐infected nondrug‐injecting homosexual men and among women engaging in high‐risk heterosexual sex is consistent with transmission by the mucosal route and with acquisition of infection by the receptive rather than insertive partner. J. Med. Virol. 56:123–127, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.