Prevalence of hepatitis G virus in Queensland blood donors.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) carriage in Queensland blood donors.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey with retrospective longitudinal study of HGV-positive donors.


METHODS
Brisbane Red Cross Blood Bank, 1995.


METHODS
100 consecutive blood donors attending the Blood Bank on two days in October 1995 and 20 blood donors with a raised plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level on their last donation.


METHODS
Presence of HGV RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in currently donated blood and in blood samples archived for up to 34 months. RT-PCR used two different reverse transcription methods and three different specific sets of primers and probes.


RESULTS
Five of the 120 blood donors were positive for HGV RNA by all RT-PCR methods (four of the 100 with normal ALT levels [4%] and one of the 20 with raised ALT levels [5%]). Retrospective testing of archived samples showed that four of these five had been persistently HGV RNA-positive for at least two years, while the fifth had been HGV RNA-negative on two donations before becoming HGV RNA-positive. No risk factors were identified for this donor.


CONCLUSIONS
A relatively large number of Queensland blood donors (4%) are persistently HGV RNA-positive.
Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Fairfield Hospital, Melbourne.
L D
LD
Moaven
C A
CA
Hyland
I F
IF
Young
D S
DS
Bowden
R
R
McCaw
L
L
Mison
S A
SA
Locarnini
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D011793:Queensland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D000410:Alanine Transaminase