title: Prevalence of GBV C/HGV RNA and GBV C/HGV antibodies in French volunteer blood donors: results of a collaborative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Posttransfusion hepatitis still occurs at an incidence of about 1 in 118,000 for HBV and 1 in 220,000 for HCV. This collaborative study aimed to determine the prevalence of a novel flavivirus, GBV-C/HGV, even though its role in transfusion-associated hepatitis is uncertain.
  
  
  METHODS
  GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected by PCR using either the Boehringer detection kit or by primers previously described. HGV antibodies were detected by a serological assay from Boehringer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The observed GBV-C/HGV RNA frequency was 3.4%. HGV antibodies occurred in 9.5% of donors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study, 12. 9% of the donors had been in contact with the GBV-C/HGV virus.
authors.affiliation: Etablissement de Transfusion Sanguine (ETS) de Bretagne Occidentale and CHU Morvan, Brest, France. bernard.Mercier@univ-brest.fr
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mercier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barclais
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botte
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cantalube
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coste
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Defer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gautreau
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giannoli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Halfon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lepot
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Loiseau
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martial
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montcharmont
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ouzan
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ravera
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Follana
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Césaire
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Janot
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lemaire
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Micco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vezon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Férec
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D005602:France; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012016:Reference Values; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral