Hepatitis G virus (HGV)--association with graft failure after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?

A group of 28 children was investigated after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for evidence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) infection. HGV RNA was detected in 14 of the 28 patients (50%) and persisted in 9 of 11 patients with follow-up samples for up to 32 months. Whereas thrombopoiesis was delayed in 2 of the 14 HGV-RNA-negative patients (14.3%), 6 out of 14 (42.9%) patients in the HGV-RNA-positive group had a delayed thrombopoiesis and 2 of the latter group had to be retransplanted because of complete graft failure. These were the only cases with hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection. Significant liver diseases were also found only in these 2 patients with HGV and HCV coinfection. These results suggest that HGV infection may significantly influence the engraftment in patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, particularly if coinfection with HCV occurs.