Infection with GB virus C (GBV-C) in patients with chronic liver disease or on maintenance hemodialysis in Indonesia.
RNA of a non-A to E hepatitis virus identified recently and designated provisionally GB virus C(GBV-C), was sought in patients in Indonesia by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction with nested primers deduced from a helicase-like region. GBV-C RNA was detected in 32 (55%) of 58 patients on maintenance hemodialysis at a frequency significantly higher (P < 0.001) than that in seven (5%) of 149 patients with chronic liver disease. Co-infection with hepatitis C virus was observed in 26 (81%) of the 32 patients on hemodialysis and in five (71%) of the seven patients with liver disease who were infected with GBV-C. Complete identity was observed in a sequence of 100 base pairs in the helicase-like region for GBV-C cDNA clones from some patients on maintenance hemodialysis. These results indicate that the patients on hemodialysis would be at high risk for GBV-C infection, which would be transmitted by transfusion and patient-to-patient routes.
Tsuda
F
F
Department of Medical Sciences, Toshiba General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Hadiwandowo
S
S
Sawada
N
N
Fukuda
M
M
Tanaka
T
T
Okamoto
H
H
Miyakawa
Y
Y
Mayumi
M
M
D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004265:DNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics*; D004279:DNA, Viral; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000097:blood; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D004265:DNA Helicases