Exposure to GB virus type C or hepatitis G virus in selected Australian adult and children populations

Abstract

Exposure to GBV-C can commence at an early age, although ongoing exposure may also occur among adults with no apparent risk factors. GBV-C RNA positivity was not associated with abnormal plasma alanine aminotransferase levels among blood donors.

Antibodies to the E2 Protein of GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus: Prevalence and Risk Factors in Different Populations in Italy

“…The prevalence among our hemodialysis patients (22%) is in agreement with that reported by investigators in other developed nations, such as Germany [19][20][21], Australia [22], Greece [23] and Austria [24], although lower prevalences were found in Belgium [25] and northern Italy [26] and a value close to 30% was observed in Munich [27]. Similarly, the frequency of anti-GBV-C antibodies in drug users (39%) is in the range of 30.4%-47.2% observed in Croatia [28], Germany [7], Slovenia [28], Australia [22] and Greece [29].…”

“…These results are similar to those observed in Australia [13] and other European countries, such as Germany [7,14,15], France [16] and Spain [15], although higher seroprevalences were occasionally reported in Austria [15] and Spain [17]. By contrast, the prevalence of anti-E2 antibodies observed in this study is lower than the frequencies reported in countries in Latin America and Africa [15,18] and higher than the rates observed in some Asian countries [15].…”

GB Virus C epidemiology in denmark: Different routes of transmission in children and low‐ and high‐risk adults

“…Published studies of children have all been done in hospital samples and are therefore difficult to compare to our population-based results. Among children tested in hospital, GBV-C prevalences of 6-13% (of whom 17-68% were anti-E2 positives) have been reported [Hyland et al, 1998;Handa et al, 2000;Infante et al, 2000].…”

Mother‐to‐Child Transmission of GB Virus C in a Cohort of Women Coinfected with GB Virus C and HIV in Bangkok, Thailand

“…The prevalence of GBV-C infection in the general population is higher than that of other bloodborne viruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus in western industrialized countries and varies globally, as does GBV-C genotype. Among antenatal populations, the prevalence of GBV-C RNA varies from 1%-2% in East Asia [1,2] to 5%-7% in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia [3][4][5][6] and 10%-13% in Africa [7,8]. GBV-C infection is also more prevalent in HIV-infected persons and others with risk factors for bloodborne infections [9] and can be transmitted parenterally, sexually, and vertically [10].…”