Prevalence of infection with hepatitis G virus among various groups in Thailand

Two research groups recently and independently, isolated a hepatotropic flavivirus from human sera. The two viruses, named GB virus C and hepatitis G virus (HGV), were subsequently discovered to represent the same virus, which was associated with acute and chronic hepatitis of the non-A-E type. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology 1998-01, Vol.92 (1), p.89-95
Main Authors: Poovorawan, Y., Theamboonlers, A., Chongsrisawat, V., Jantaradsamee, P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Carrier State
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Flaviviridae - isolation & purification
Hepatitis C - complications
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - complications
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - epidemiology
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - transmission
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infant
Infectious diseases
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prevalence
Risk Factors
RNA, Viral - analysis
Thailand - epidemiology
Thalassemia - complications
Tropical medicine
Viral diseases
Viral hepatitis
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Summary:Two research groups recently and independently, isolated a hepatotropic flavivirus from human sera. The two viruses, named GB virus C and hepatitis G virus (HGV), were subsequently discovered to represent the same virus, which was associated with acute and chronic hepatitis of the non-A-E type. The prevalences of infection with HGV have now been investigated in various groups of the Thai population, some of which [e.g. thalassaemic children, patients with chronic liver disease, carriers of antibodies to hepatitis B virus and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV), prostitutes and intravenous-drug users (IVDU)] were assumed to be at high risk. Samples of sera were investigated by reverse-transcriptase PCR, using four primers created from the 5′ untranslated region of HGV. The prevalence of HGV infection among the healthy controls (l%-5%) was found to be much less than that among thalassaemic children (32.6%), asymptomatic carriers of anti-HCV (20.4%), IVDU (18.2%), aplastic anaemia patients (14.3%) and prostitutes (10%), although similar to that in patients with chronic liver disorders. These results confirm a parenteral route of transmission for HGV and emphasise the need for further research to determine the clinical significance of this virus.
ISSN:0003-4983
1364-8594
DOI:10.1080/00034983.1998.11813265