Wu R R, Mizokami M, Cao K, Nakano T, Ge X M, Wang S S, Orito E, Ohba K, Mukaide M, Hikiji K, Lau J Y, Iino S
Second Department of Medicine, Nagoya City University Medical School, Japan.
J Infect Dis. 1997 Jan;175(1):168-71. doi: 10.1093/infdis/175.1.168.
The prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection among intravenous drug users (IVDUs), patients with liver diseases, and blood donors in Nanning, southern China was studied. GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with primers derived from the 5'-untranslated region. GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected in 64 of 85 IVDUs, 20 of 80 persons with liver disease, and 1 of 50 blood donors. Among IVDUs, GBV-C/HGV infection was associated with antibodies to hepatis C virus (HCV) and with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Eleven nucleotide sequences were determined and analyzed by molecular evolutionary analysis. In a phylogenetic tree, the isolates were grouped in three clusters with GBV-C and HGV grouped in two clusters. These data indicate that GBV-C/HGV infection is common in China among IVDUs but uncommon among persons with liver disease without HBsAg or anti-HCV and that there is a new group of GBV-C/HGV.
