Related Experiment Videos
Interspousal transmission of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus: a comparison with hepatitis C virus
1Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei.
Insights
Spouses of GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infected patients show higher transmission risk compared to Hepatitis C virus (HCV). Educating couples on avoiding GBV-C/HGV transmission is recommended.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Blood transfusion is a known transmission route for GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV).
- Other transmission routes, particularly within households, remain less understood.
- The pathogenicity of GBV-C/HGV is still under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection in spouses of index patients.
- To identify potential risk factors for GBV-C/HGV transmission within couples.
- To compare transmission risks of GBV-C/HGV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) between spouses.
Main Methods:
- Studied 100 couples where the index patient had Hepatitis C virus (HCV).
- Assessed spouses for both HCV and GBV-C/HGV infections (RNA and antibodies).
- Performed phylogenetic analysis of GBV-C/HGV envelope gene sequences in infected couples.
Main Results:
- 14% of spouses were infected with HCV.
- 12 index patients were co-infected with GBV-C/HGV.
- GBV-C/HGV infection was detected in 5 (42%) of 12 spouses of co-infected patients, with closely related viral sequences observed in one couple.
Conclusions:
- Spouses of GBV-C/HGV infected individuals are at a higher risk of acquiring GBV-C/HGV compared to HCV.
- Intrafamilial transmission of GBV-C/HGV is suggested by closely related viral sequences.
- Further research is needed to confirm GBV-C/HGV pathogenicity and inform public health recommendations.
Abstract:
Although infection with GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) by blood transfusion is well documented, little is known about the other routes of transmission. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection in spouses of index patients and the related risk factors were studied. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and GBV-C/HGV infections were studied in spouses of 100 patients with hepatitis C, of whom 12 were found to be also positive for GBV-C/HGV RNA. For couples both with GBV-C/ HGV viremia, nucleotide sequences of the divergent envelope region were analyzed by phylogenetic tree constructions. For HCV infection, anti-HCV was found in 14 (14%) of the 100 spouses. Five spouses (42%) of the 12 patients with dual infection of GBV-C/HGV and HCV had evidence of GBV-C/HGV infection, three had viral RNA, and two had antibodies to a recombinant HGV envelope protein E2. Nucleotide sequence comparison and phylogenetic tree analysis of the genome in the GBV-C/HGV infected couple revealed the isolates to be closely related. These results suggest that spouses of patients with GBV-C/HGV infection are at a higher risk of acquiring GBV-C/HGV as compared with HCV, and they should be educated to avoid GBV-C/HGV infection from their spouses, in case GBV-C/HGV is shown to be pathogenic.