[NEW HEPATITIS VIRUSES]

Serum obtained from a surgeon (with the initials GB) with acute icteric hepatitis, permited the passages of two virus to tamarins; furthermore was possible to detect anti-bodies against the putative epitope of this viruses, designed GBV-A and GBV-B in several human populations; many years after that two different researchers teams identified a new virus GBV-C or HVG, based on very similar aminoacid sequence of both.The role of GB-viruses and hepatitis G virus in human pathology is not completely dear; but we can say some things as that the viruses can be categorized as belonging to the flavivirus family, are not related in any way with hepatitis C virus; GBV-A is a nonpathogen virus, GBV-B produce hepatitis in monkey but is not relevant in human, GBV-C and HGV are independent isolation of the same virus, and they can to produce liver injury, but seems to have a mild course.Finally GBV-WHGV accounts for only a minority of cases of hepatitis non A-E, and the majority of them are still waiting for identification of a new agent.