Alta prevalência do RNA do vírus da hepatite G (HGV) em doadores de sangue brasileiros

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of the Hepatitis G Virus on a population of blood donors from São Paulo, Brazil and to evaluate its association to sociodemographic variables. Two RT-PCR systems targeting the putative 5'NCR and NS3 regions were employed and the former has shown a higher sensitivity. The observed prevalence of HGV-RNA on 545 blood donors was 9.7% (CI 95% 7.4;12.5). Statistical analysis depicted an association with race/ethnicity, black and mulatto donors being more frequently infected; and also with years of education, less educated donors presenting higher prevalences. No association was observed with other sociodemographic parameters as age, gender, place of birth and of residence. DNA sequencing of nine randomly chosen isolates demonstrated the presence of genotypes 1, 2 and 3 among our population but clustering of these Brazilian isolates was not detected upon phylogenetic analysis.O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a presença do vírus da hepatite G e sua associação com variáveis sóciodemográficas em uma população de doadores de sangue da cidade de São Paulo, Brasil. Dois sistemas de PCR foram empregados, um focando a região 5' não-codificadora e outro a região não-estrutural 3, apresentando o primeiro maior sensibilidade. A prevalência detectada do HGV-RNA em 545 doadores foi de 9,7% (IC 95% 7,4;12,5). A prevalência do HGV-RNA foi significativamente maior em doadores da raça negra/mulata (26,5%) quando comparados aos doadores caucasianos (7,5%), (OR = 4,5). Também foi observada uma tendência de maiores prevalências em doadores de menor escolaridade. Não se observou associação significativa com outros parâmetros estudados como idade, sexo, origem geográfica e local de residência. O sequenciamento do DNA de nove isolados selecionados ao acaso demonstrou a presença dos genótipos 1, 2 e 3, mas não houve um agrupamento das amostras brasileiras quando submetidas à análise filogenétic

High prevalence of GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus RNA among Brazilian blood donors

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of the Hepatitis G Virus on a population of blood donors from São Paulo, Brazil and to evaluate its association to sociodemographic variables. Two RT-PCR systems targeting the putative 5'NCR and NS3 regions were employed and the former has shown a higher sensitivity. The observed prevalence of HGV-RNA on 545 blood donors was 9.7% (CI 95% 7.4;12.5). Statistical analysis depicted an association with race/ethnicity, black and mulatto donors being more frequently infected; and also with years of education, less educated donors presenting higher prevalences. No association was observed with other sociodemographic parameters as age, gender, place of birth and of residence. DNA sequencing of nine randomly chosen isolates demonstrated the presence of genotypes 1, 2 and 3 among our population but clustering of these Brazilian isolates was not detected upon phylogenetic analysis

Three Cases of Infection with Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 5 among Brazilian Hepatitis Patients

During the course of routine genotyping of hepatitis C virus isolates by 5′ noncoding region sequencing, three samples were found to bear genotype 5-specific nucleotides. A serotyping method was subsequently applied and confirmed the finding. This is the first report of the occurrence of genotype 5 in Brazil