Etiologic considerations of fulminant non-A, non-B viral hepatitis in Japan: analyses by nucleic acid amplification method.
The etiology of fulminant non-A, non-B hepatitis has remained unclear, even after the identification of hepatitis C and E viruses. To study the possible involvement of hepatitis B, C, D, and E virus infections, viral genomes were amplified by a sensitive polymerase chain reaction method in sera and liver tissues obtained from 20 patients serologically diagnosed with non-A, non-B fulminant hepatitis (n = 14), acute hepatitis severe type (n = 2), and ordinary acute hepatitis (n = 4). Hepatitis C or E virus RNA could not be detected in sera obtained at admission from these patients. Hepatitis B virus DNA was detected in sera from 3 patients with fulminant hepatitis and in liver from 9 patients with fulminant hepatitis or acute hepatitis severe type. These results suggest that HCV might not be involved in fulminant non-A, non-B hepatitis, and HBV might be related to some of the serologic "non-A, non-B" viral hepatitis cases in Japan.
First Department of Medicine, Chiba University School of Medicine, Japan.
K
K
Fukai
O
O
Yokosuka
K
K
Fujiwara
M
M
Tagawa
F
F
Imazeki
H
H
Saisho
M
M
Omata
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002648:Child; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003698:Hepatitis Delta Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006518:Hepatitis Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004279:DNA, Viral; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D012367:RNA, Viral