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Volume 334:1485-1491 June 6, 1996 Number 23 Next

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ABSTRACT

Background A recently discovered non-A–E hepatitis virus has been designated hepatitis GB virus C (HGBV-C), but little is known about its mode of transmission and its clinical manifestations. We studied 519 patients on maintenance hemodialysis to determine whether they were infected with HGBV-C.

Methods HGBV-C RNA was identified in serum by a reverse-transcription–polymerase-chain-reaction assay with nested primers deduced from a nonstructural region. A nucleotide sequence of 100 bp in the nonstructural region was determined on HGBV-C clones.

Results HGBV-C RNA was detected in 3.1 percent of the patients on hemodialysis (16 of 519), as compared with 0.9 percent of healthy blood donors (4 of 448, P<0.03). None of the 16 patients had evidence of active liver disease, although 7 were also infected with hepatitis C virus. Eight patients with HGBV-C infection were followed for 7 to 16 years. In two patients the virus was present at the start of hemodialysis. One had a history of transfusion, and HGBV-C RNA persisted over a period of 16 years; the other became free of HGBV-C after 10 years. In five patients, HGBV-C RNA was first detected 3 to 20 weeks after blood transfusion and persisted for up to 13 years. One patient with no history of transfusion was infected with an HGBV-C variant with the same sequence as in two of the patients with post-transfusion HGBV-C infections.

Conclusions Patients on maintenance hemodialysis are at increased risk for HGBV-C infection. This virus produces persistent infections, which may be transmitted by transfusions but may also be transmitted by other means.

Source Information

From Masuko Hospital and Masuko Institute for Medical Research, Aichi-Ken (K.M., T. Mitsui, K.I., C.Y.); Okuda Clinic (K.O.), Meguro Clinic (T. Meguro), and Murayama Hospital (N.M.), Tochigi-Ken; the First Department of Internal Medicine, Yamanashi Medical University, Yamanashi-Ken (T.I.); the Department of Medical Sciences, Toshiba General Hospital, Tokyo (F.T.); the Immunology Division, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi-Ken (H.O., M.M.), and Miyakawa Memorial Research Foundation, Tokyo (Y.M.) — all in Japan.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Mayumi at the Immunology Division, Jichi Medical School, Minamikawachi-Machi, Tochigi-Ken 329-04, Japan.

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Hepatitis GB Virus C
Sampietro M., Badalamenti S., Lunghi G., Yoshiba M., Inoue K., Sekiyama K., Tomás J. F., Bartolomé J., Carreño V., Masuko K., Okamoto H., Mayumi M.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1996; 335:1392-1394, Oct 31, 1996. Correspondence

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