Hepatitis GB virus C infection in Japanese hemophiliacs with persistent hepatitis C virus infection
Toyoda, H.; Fukuda, Y.; Hayakawa, T.
Nihon Rinsho. Japanese Journal of Clinical Medicine 55(3): 554-558
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1852 PMID: 9086757 Document Number: 474495
We investigated the prevalence of infection of GBV-C, which has been cloned recently and is considered a parenterally transmissible virus. Ninety-one Japanese hemophiliacs who were persistently infected with HCV were evaluated. The presence of GBV-C RNA was measured by nested RT-PCR. We analyzed the prevalence and the association with subtypes of coinfected HCV. 20.9% of hemophiliacs were infected with GBV-C. The distribution of HCV subtypes of patients who are coinfected with GBV-C was similar to that of patients who are coinfected with HIV, and the prevalence of GBV-C infection of patients with HCV subtype la was significantly higher than that of patients without HCV subtype la. High prevalence of GBV-C infection was observed in Japanese hemophiliacs, and most were thought to be imported isolates from foreign origins, as well as HIV infection in these patients.