Chronic non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis: is hepatitis G/GBV-C involved?
BACKGROUND
Hepatitis G virus/GBV-C is a recently discovered virus, and its relevance in chronic hepatitis is still debated.


METHODS
We have previously described 127 long-term-studied and well-characterized patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH). Ninety-one (71.7%) were positive for hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti-HCV) in a first-generation anti-HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We now reanalyzed the same group of patients and added a third-generation anti-HCV ELISA and recombinant immunoblot assay and, in negative patients, also polymerase chain reactions for hepatitis C virus RNA, hepatitis GBV-C RNA, and hepatitis B virus DNA. Additional tests for autoimmune hepatitis types 2 and 3 were also included.


RESULTS
Anti-HCV were detected in 114 of the 123 evaluable patients (92.7%). Of the remaining nine anti-HCV-negative patients one had misdiagnosed primary biliary cirrhosis, and two had autoimmune hepatitis type 3. None of the anti-HCV-negative patients were hepatitis GBV-C RNA-, HCV RNA-, or HBV DNA-positive. Thus, 114 of 120 NANBH patients (95.0%) had chronic hepatitis C. None of the remaining six patients had received blood transfusions or was a drug addict, and two of them were successfully treated with steroids.


CONCLUSIONS
Hepatitis G/GBV-C as a single cause of chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis is uncommon, and in all patients with parenteral risk factors hepatitis C was detected.
Wejstål
R
R
Dept. of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden.
Norkrans
G
G
Widell
A
A
D000328:Adult; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis; D019693:Hepatitis, Autoimmune / Q000175:diagnosis; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000821:virology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction