Hepatitis C virus and GBV-C/hepatitis G virus in Argentine patients with porphyria cutanea tarda.
To investigate hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GBV-C/hepatitis G virus (HGV) genotype prevalence among HCV-infected porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) patients, 19 HCV-infected patients with associated PCT were studied. A control group of 53 age-matched HCV-infected patients without associated PCT was selected. Eighteen of the 19 serologically positive HCV-PCT patients showed HCV RNA in serum. Genotype 1b was the most prevalent among both HCV-PCT patients (72.2%; 13/18) and age-matched HCV controls (50.9%; 27/53). Such different genotypic prevalence failed to reach statistical significance (chi(2) with Yates' correction, p = 0.19). The single HCV-PCT patient without detectable HCV RNA was also infected with genogroup 3 GBV-C/HGV. This GBV-C/HGV RNA prevalence (5.3%) among HCV-PCT patients is not statistically different from that observed among Argentine blood donors (5.5%; 11/200). To our knowledge, these results show for the first time the molecular epidemiology of both HCV and GBV-C/HGV associated to PCT in America.
Oubiña
J R
JR
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Paraguay 2155, Piso 11, 1121 Buenos Aires, Argentina. joubina@fmed.uba.ar
Quarleri
J F
JF
Sawicki
M A
MA
Mathet
V L
VL
Ruiz
V
V
Schroder
T
T
Méndez
M
M
Parera
V
V
Muramatsu
H
H
Battle
A
A
González Cappa
S M
SM
Fainboim
H A
HA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D018067:Flaviviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D017119:Porphyria Cutanea Tarda / Q000150:complications*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics
D012367:RNA, Viral