H F Liu1, E Goderniaux, G Burtonboy, P Goubau. 1. Unit of Virology, Cliniques Universitaires St-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: A high prevalence of GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA and E2 antibodies is observable in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals in Belgium, including intravenous drug users (IDUs), in whom the highest prevalence is observed. A molecular analysis of GBV-C/HGV could give indications on the origin of this infection in IDUs. METHODS: We directly sequenced 7 GBV-C/HGV isolates from this IDU population and performed a phylogenetic analysis comparing the results to known GBV-C/HGV sequences. RESULTS: All 7 isolates were GBV-C/HGV genome type 2. Three were found to be subtype 2a, and 4 belonged to the 2b subtype. No specific clustering was observed for strains obtained from IDUs in Belgium, and they were interspersed between other sequences with long branch lengths. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, it is unlikely that the IDUs were infected recently by GBV-C/HGV from a common ancestral virus.
OBJECTIVE: A high prevalence of GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA and E2 antibodies is observable in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected individuals in Belgium, including intravenous drug users (IDUs), in whom the highest prevalence is observed. A molecular analysis of GBV-C/HGV could give indications on the origin of this infection in IDUs. METHODS: We directly sequenced 7 GBV-C/HGV isolates from this IDU population and performed a phylogenetic analysis comparing the results to known GBV-C/HGV sequences. RESULTS: All 7 isolates were GBV-C/HGV genome type 2. Three were found to be subtype 2a, and 4 belonged to the 2b subtype. No specific clustering was observed for strains obtained from IDUs in Belgium, and they were interspersed between other sequences with long branch lengths. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, it is unlikely that the IDUs were infected recently by GBV-C/HGV from a common ancestral virus.
Authors: David Bonsall; William F Gregory; Camilla L C Ip; Sharyne Donfield; James Iles; M Azim Ansari; Paolo Piazza; Amy Trebes; Anthony Brown; John Frater; Oliver G Pybus; Phillip Goulder; Paul Klenerman; Rory Bowden; Edward D Gomperts; Eleanor Barnes; Amit Kapoor; Colin P Sharp; Peter Simmonds Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 6.883