title: GB Virus C (GBV-C) Infection in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Seropositive Women with or at Risk for HIV Infection.
abstract: GB virus C (GBV-C) may have a beneficial impact on HIV disease progression; however, the epidemiologic characteristics of this virus are not well characterized. Behavioral factors and gender may lead to differential rates of GBV-C infection; yet, studies have rarely addressed GBV-C infections in women or racial/ethnic minorities. Therefore, we evaluated GBV-C RNA prevalence and genotype distribution in a large prospective study of high-risk women in the US.
  
  
  
  438 hepatitis C virus (HCV) seropositive women, including 306 HIV-infected and 132 HIV-uninfected women, from the HIV Epidemiologic Research Study were evaluated for GBV-C RNA. 347 (79.2%) women were GBV-C RNA negative, while 91 (20.8%) were GBV-C RNA positive. GBV-C positive women were younger than GBV-C negative women. Among 306 HIV-infected women, 70 (22.9%) women were HIV/GBV-C co-infected. Among HIV-infected women, the only significant difference between GBV-negative and GBV-positive women was age (mean 38.4 vs. 35.1 years; p<0.001). Median baseline CD4 cell counts and plasma HIV RNA levels were similar. The GBV-C genotypes were 1 (n = 31; 44.3%), 2 (n = 36; 51.4%), and 3 (n = 3; 4.3%). The distribution of GBV-C genotypes in co-infected women differed significantly by race/ethnicity. However, median CD4 cell counts and log10 HIV RNA levels did not differ by GBV-C genotype. GBV-C incidence was 2.7% over a median follow-up of 2.9 (IQR: 1.5, 4.9) years, while GBV-C clearance was 35.7% over a median follow-up of 2.44 (1.4, 3.5) years. 4 women switched genotypes.
  
  
  
  Age, injection drug use, a history of sex for money or drugs, and number of recent male sex partners were associated with GBV-C infection among all women in this analysis. However, CD4 cell count and HIV viral load of HIV/HCV/GBV-C co-infected women were not different although race was associated with GBV-C genotype.
authors.affiliation: Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Blackard
authors.affiliation: Division of Digestive Diseases, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Welge
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Caroline C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Miriam Hospital and Department of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lynn E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Fenway Institute, Boston, MA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kenneth H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Mt. Sinai St. Luke's and Mt. Sinai Roosevelt Hospitals, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Celentano
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Denise J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.affiliation: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Lytt
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gardner
mesh_terms: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions / Q000235:genetics; D000367:Age Factors; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D060085:Coinfection / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D018178:Flaviviridae Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D029407:GB virus C / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D012367:RNA, Viral