OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence and clinical significance of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection in a large cohort of patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). PATIENTS AND METHODS The study included 100 consecutive patients (92 female and eight male), with a mean age of 62 years (range 31-80) that were prospectively visited in our unit. All patients fulfilled the European Community ...

The evidence of a higher incidence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the relatively high prevalence of patients with primary liver carcinoma without apparent risk factors in our country motivated the present study, the objective of which was to determine the frequency of HGV-ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a series of patients with HCC. The di...

GB virus C (GBV-C), also called hepatitis G virus (HGV), occurs worldwide, but the clinical significance of this virus is still unclear. Plasma samples from 1,001 blood donors were tested by reverse transcription PCR using primers from the NS5 region and by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of immunoglobulin G antibodies against the putative envelope of HG...

Until now there have been few seroepidemiological data for hepatitis G virus/GB virus type C (HGV/GBV-C). A four-antigen HGV/GBV-C immunoblot was established to examine 446 serum specimens from healthy individuals without risk factors for parenteral viral transmission. These individuals were divided into seven groups according to age. Seroprevalence rates were low for children and adolescents (...

An exposure to GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) was studied among populations at risk for blood and sexual exposure to analyze risk factor of the transmission of the virus. Blood samples were drawn from 98 intravenous drug users (IVDU), 100 female high-class commercial sex workers (CSW) and 50 male outpatients (MOP) at a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic in Chiang Mai, Thailand...

The prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV)-RNA and HGV-E2 antibodies was studied in a cohort of Dutch hemophilia patients in relation to clotting products used, age, and coinfection with hepatitis C. Between 1991 and 1995, blood samples were taken from 294 patients with hemophilia A, B, or von Willebrand disease. From each patient one fresh frozen sample was tested for HGV cDNA polymerase chain ...

A survey was conducted in a blood donor population of Central Brazil aiming to investigate the prevalence of GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection and also to analyze the virus genotypes distribution. A total of 241 voluntary blood donors were interviewed at the State Blood Bank in Goiânia, State of Goiás, Brazil. Blood samples were collected and serum samples tested for GBV-C/HG...

Hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a newly described virus that has been implicated in transfusion-associated hepatitis. The prevalence of HGV in a group of multitransfused patients with hematological malignancy was studied using a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique. Transfusion histories and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were recorded. HGV was detected in 29 of 6...

The GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV) is a member of the Flaviviridae family. Based on the clinical and epidemiological profiles, this virus could be acquired mainly by parenteral transmission through contaminated blood. We therefore investigated the presence of GBV-C/HGV and its relation with the other blood borne viruses as hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV, HCV) in hemodialysis and tha...

HGV has been identified in patients with chronic hepatitis of unknown aetiology and the possibility that HGV may be the cause has been raised. We have analysed liver biopsies and PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) from 80 patients with chronic hepatitis and HGV-RNA in serum by PCR. In ten patients HGV-RNA was detected in liver, in five patients it was detected in PBMC and seven were posi...