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J Hepatol 1997 Dec;27(6):1110-1112
Acute hepatitis caused by sexual or household transmission
of GBV-C.
Tanaka T, Takeuchi T, Inoue K, Tanaka S, Kohara M Liver Unit, The
Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital, Japan.
BACKGROUND/AIMS:
Transfusion transmission is the only known transmission route of
the recently identified GBV-C. To date, no evidence of household
transmission of GBV-C has been reported. In the present study, a
case of acute GBV-C hepatitis was investigated with respect to the
mode of transmission.
METHODS:
A 24-year-old woman with acute GBV-C hepatitis and her asymptomatic
husband were examined. Two GBV-C RNA samples, isolated at different
times from both the patient and her husband were amplified by reverse
transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction using sequences from the
NS3 region. Sequencing of this region was subsequently performed
for all four samples.
RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS:
The genomic RNA sequences of GBV-C isolated from each partner at
two different time points were found to be 100% homologous. However,
these genomic GBV-C RNA sequences differed in the NS3 (helicase)
region from the genomic RNA isolated from the GBV-C prototype previously
reported by Simons et al. Nonetheless, high homology (83%) was found
between the GBV-C prototype and the GBV-C isolated from our patients.
In addition, four nucleotides of the GBV-C RNA in the present study
are unique and are not present in any other reported sequences of
GBV-C. These results strongly suggest that GBV-C is one of the etiological
agents involved in severe liver injury and was transmitted between
this couple.
PMID: 9453438, UI: 98114183
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