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 samples, 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.
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 samples, 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.
Authors: Marcus Vinícius Guimarães Lacerda; Victor Hugo Aquino; Mario Luis Garcia de Figueiredo; Evan P Williams; Colleen B Jonsson; Mohd Jaseem Khan; Márcio Roberto Teixeira Nunes; Clayton Pereira Silva de Lima; Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo; Mônica Regina Farias Costa; Maria Paula Gomes Mourão Journal: Arch Virol Date: 2022-07-16 Impact factor: 2.685
Authors: Kombo F N'Guessan; Ceejay Boyce; Awewura Kwara; Timothy N A Archampong; Margaret Lartey; Kwamena W Sagoe; Ernest Kenu; Adjoa Obo-Akwa; Jason T Blackard Journal: Virus Genes Date: 2018-03-17 Impact factor: 2.332
Authors: Aniel de Sarom Negrão Silva; Clayton Pereira Silva; Rafael Ribeiro Barata; Pedro Victor Reis da Silva; Patrícia Danin Jordão Monteiro; Letícia Lamarão; Rommel Mário Rodríguez Burbano; Márcio Roberto Teixeira Nunes; Patrícia Danielle Lima de Lima Journal: Virol J Date: 2020-10-14 Impact factor: 4.099