Hepatitis G virus infection in hemodialysis patients and the effects of interferon treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the nature of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infections in hemodialysis patients and to determine the responsiveness of HGV to antiviral therapy in these patients.


METHODS
HGV, a recently identified flavivirus, is associated with non-A-E viral hepatitis infections. We studied HGV infections in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected hemodialysis patients over a 1-yr period, using two independent PCR assays and nucleic acid sequencing. Thirty-four of 63 study patients were treated with interferon.


RESULTS
We observed a 27% prevalence (17/63 patients) and a 4% annual incidence of HGV infections in the study population. HGV was not detected in any of the 10 HGV-infected patients immediately after interferon therapy. Although seven of these 10 patients developed HGV relapses, three had long-term responses. The interferon responsiveness of HGV and HCV appeared to be unrelated. In contrast, all seven untreated HGV-infected patients remained viremic. Sequence analyses of the different HGV isolates revealed only very limited genetic variability in the polymerase chain reaction-amplified regions of HGV during 1 yr of observation.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that HCV-infected hemodialysis patients are at substantial risk of acquiring HGV infection and that HGV infections are prevalent in this population. In addition, HGV infections become chronic but are responsive to interferon treatment.
Umlauft
F
F
Department of Gastroenterology, Stanford University, California 94305-5487, USA.
Wong
D T
DT
Underhill
P A
PA
Oefner
P J
PJ
Jin
L
L
Urbanek
M
M
Gruenewald
K
K
Greenberg
H B
HB
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D006435:Renal Dialysis
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012367:RNA, Viral