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Hepatitis G virus: is it a hepatitis virus?
R C Cheung1, E B Keeffe, H B Greenberg
1Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, California, USA.
The Western Journal of Medicine
|July 1, 1997
Summary
Hepatitis G virus (HGV) and GB virus C (GBV-C) are newly identified RNA viruses. While HGV is a blood-borne agent often found with other hepatitis viruses, its direct role in causing liver disease remains uncertain.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Hepatitis G virus (HGV) and GB virus C (GBV-C) are newly discovered positive-sense RNA viruses within the Flaviviridae family.
- These viruses are frequently transmitted through blood and often coexist as coinfections with other hepatitis viruses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent data on the epidemiology of HGV/GBV-C.
- To analyze the association between HGV/GBV-C and various liver diseases, including posttransfusion hepatitis, non-A-E hepatitis, fulminant hepatitis, cryptogenic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- To discuss HGV's role in coinfections, response to antiviral therapy, and impact on liver transplantation.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recently published data.
- Analysis of epidemiological studies on HGV/GBV-C prevalence.
- Examination of clinical data linking HGV/GBV-C to liver disease outcomes.
Main Results:
- HGV prevalence ranges from 0.9% to 10% globally among blood donors.
- HGV viremia often persists without biochemical evidence of hepatitis.
- HGV RNA is detected in 0-50% of fulminant hepatitis cases and 14-36% of cryptogenic cirrhosis cases of unknown etiology.
Conclusions:
- HGV is a transmissible blood-borne virus, frequently found as a coinfection.
- The direct causal role of HGV in acute and chronic liver diseases remains uncertain.
- Further research is needed to clarify the association between HGV and chronic non-A-E hepatitis.