Mother‐to‐Infant Transmission of GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus: The Role of High‐Titered Maternal Viremia and Mode of Delivery

Abstract

To study mother-to-infant transmission of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV), blood samples of infants born to carrier mothers were collected beginning 3 months after birth and were tested for GBV-C/HGV RNA until 1 year of age. Of 2046 mothers, 2.1% were positive for GBV-C/ HGV RNA, and 25 of their infants were followed for a median of 12 months. Thirteen infants (52%) were viremic, and infection became persistent in all. Maternal GBV-C/HGV RNA levels of this group were ú10 7 copies/mL. Nucleotide sequence comparison in 5 viremic mother-infant pairs revealed a homology of 93% -98.2%, and none delivered by elective cesarean section. In comparison, of the 12 uninfected infants' mothers, 10 had lower GBV-C/HGV RNA levels (mean, 5 1 10 4 copies/ mL), and the remaining 2 high-titered mothers had elective cesarean section. Thus, high-titered maternal viremia and mode of delivery are closely associated with the mother-to-infant transmission of GBV-C/HGV to infants, and the infection usually becomes persistent. for GBV-C/HGV RNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) startcan also be found in patients with community-acquired hepatiing from 3 months after birth until 1 year of age (usually every tis [14] and is distributed worldwide, with a higher prevalence 2-3 months). The infected neonates and blood sampling times are in certain risk groups [9 -15].shown in figure 1. The duration of follow-up was comparable between infected and uninfected infants. Although perinatal transmission of GBV-C/HGV has beenThe mode of delivery was classified into elective cesarean reported to occur in some instances [16 -18], the case number section, emergent cesarean section, and normal spontaneous delivis small, and thus the prevalence, risk factors, and significance ery [20]. remain unclear. We therefore investigated the frequency of Materials and Methodsrum GBV-C/HGV RNA was detected by reverse transcriptionSubjects. Serum samples of 2046 consecutive pregnant women polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers from the 5-collected from May 1995 to May 1996 and stored at 020ЊC were untranslated region of the viral genome [21], and the positive maternal serum samples were further quantified. To screen the GBV-C/HGV genome, serum specimens from 10 pregnant women were pooled and then subjected to 21]. In case

Early acquisition of TT virus in infants: Possible minor role of maternal transmission

“…A group of 25 GBV-C/HGV-infected mothers who had participated in our previous study [Lin et al, 1998] served as a second study group. Serum samples from both groups were collected during prenatal examinations and an assay for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and then an assay for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) were performed if specimens were positive for HBsAg.…”

“…Mothers were de®ned as carriers of TTV when serum specimens were positive for viral DNA at least twice within an interval of 3 months. Blood samples were collected from infants born to carrier mothers and were tested for TTV DNA and ALT starting from 3 months after birth until 1 year of age (usually every 2±3 months) [Lin et al, 1998]. …”

“…Perinatal transmission of blood-borne viruses, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), GB virus-C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) and human immunode®ciency virus, is well documented [Stevens et al, 1975;Okada et al, 1976;European Collaborative Study, 1992;Lin et al, 1994Lin et al, , 1998Ohto et al, 1994;Peckham and Gibb, 1995;Simons et al, 1995;Linen et al, 1996;Zuckerman, 1996]. This mode of transmission plays a key role in maintaining HBV transmission from generation to generation [Stevens et al, 1975;Okada et al, 1976;Chen et al, 1987;Hsu et al, 1988].…”

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

“…Anti-E2 antibody was found to be a neutralising antibody and it was shown that GBV-C infection was transitory in the majority of cases [Thomas et al, 1998;Lefrere et al, 1999]. GBV-C was originally found as a blood borne virus, but transmission by the sexual and vertical route has also been documented [Schmidt et al, 1996;Kao et al, 1997;Lin et al, 1998]. …”

Humoral and cellular immune responses to the GB virus C/hepatitis G virus envelope 2 protein

“…Most GBV-C/HGV infections seem to be self-limiting and no clear-cut pathology has been ascribed to GBV-C/HGV. GBV-C/HGV is transmitted mainly by parenteral routes, such as contaminated blood products and intravenous drug abuse (IVDU) and also by vertical transmission [Fischler et al, 1997;Lin et al, 1998;Viazov et al, 1997a,b]. No definite explanation for the existence of both GBV-C/HGV RNA (1-3% [Linnen et al, 1996;Simons et al, 1995]) and antibodies (3-8%; [Dille et al, 1997]) in the general population has been provided.…”