Hepatitis G virus infection in the elderly.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

At least 10% of post-transfusion and community-acquired hepatitis cases are not accounted for by the A to E viruses. Hepatitis G virus (HGV), a novel agent belonging to the Flaviviridae and distantly related to HCV has recently been identified. The epidemiology and clinical significance of this infection in the geriatric setting is still little known. Aim of the investigation was to assess the prevalence and clinical significance of HGV infection in the geriatric setting.

PATIENTS

105 unselected consecutive patients (mean age 73.4 years).

METHODS

HGV-RNA was detected by a single-tube reverse-transcription heminested polymerase chain reaction with primers from the 5' untranslated region of the virus. Anti-HGV antibodies were detected with a commercial anti-E2 immunometric assay.

RESULTS

3/105 patients (2.9%) were viraemic, without a history or clinical evidence of hepatitis. Anti-HGV antibodies were detected in 25 patients (23.8%), 40% of whom had associated anti-HCV antibodies. The presence of HGV-RNA and anti-HGV antibodies was mutually exclusive.

CONCLUSIONS

HGV infection is highly prevalent in our population and the cumulative risk of exposure is proportional to age. In most cases, HGV infection is self-limiting and clinically irrelevant. Immunity against E2 or other associated uncharacterized viral epitopes appears to be protective.