High prevalence of hepatitis G viremia among kidney transplant patients in Thailand

✍ Scribed by Raengsakulrach, Boonyos; Ong-aj-yooth, Leena; Thaiprasert, Thanarak; Nilwarangkur, Sanga; Ong-aj-yooth, Sompong; Narupiti, Sumitda; Thirawuth, Vipa; Klungthong, Chonticha; Snitbhan, Rapin; Vaughn, David W.

• Book ID: 101216226
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 63 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0146-6615
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9071(199710)53:2<162::aid-jmv9>3.0.co;2-7

✦ Synopsis

Patients receiving kidney transplants (KT) are at high risk for blood borne viral infections. To determine the prevalence of a recently discovered hepatitis G virus (HGV) in this patient group, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) employing primers derived from the NS5 region of the viral genome was utilized. HGV RNA was detected in 40 of 94 KT patients (43%), as compared to 3 of 69 healthy subjects (4.3%). Cocirculation of HGV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA was detected in 12 patients (13%). Comparison of patients with and without HGV revealed that the former had received hemodialysis before transplantation for a significantly longer duration than the latter (28 vs. 17 months, respectively; P < 0.05). The amount of blood transfused and mean levels of liver enzymes, including alkaline phosphatase, alanine transaminase, and aspartate transaminase, were the same in both groups. Sequence analysis of 275-base pair DNA clones obtained from 2 patients revealed approximately 92% sequence homology to the published HGV and GB virus C sequences. These results suggested that HGV infection among Thai KT patients was high and the role of HGV in causing liver disease remains to be determined.