Hepatitis G virus genotypes in a tertiary care centre in southern India.
BACKGROUND
The association of GBV-C/HGV in patients at high risk of parenteral infection and those with chronic liver disease in southern India is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To study the occurrence of GBV-C/HGV in three patient groups attending a tertiary care centre in Vellore and identify the prevailing genotype(s).


METHODS
Two hundred and twenty-seven individuals were studied using an RT-PCR assay with primers specific for the 5'NCR and the NS5a-coding regions. Ten randomly selected samples were sequenced in the 5'NCR region of the GBV-C/HGV genome.


RESULTS
GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected in 37/70 (52.9%) of renal transplant recipients, 18/70 (25.7%) of patients with haematological disorders and in 9/87 (10.3%) patients with chronic liver disease. Nine of the ten sequences could be assigned to genotype 2a while the remaining sequence could not be assigned.


CONCLUSIONS
In this centre, GBV-C/HGV is widely prevalent in patients with high parenteral risk and in those with chronic liver disease. The predominantly circulating genotype among study patients is genotype 2a.
D002908:Chronic Disease; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D029407:GB virus C / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005838:Genotype; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000150:complications; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000150:complications
D012367:RNA, Viral