Abstract
To assess the prevalence of GBV‐C in patients suffering unknown liver disease we have investigated the GBV‐C‐RNA in serum of 54 patients: 10 with acute and 32 with chronic non‐A‐E hepatitis (16 active and 16 persistent), 10 with hepatocellular carcinoma, 2 diagnosed with hepatic fulminant failure, and 91 healthy blood donors (control). PCR with primers from NS3 helicase region was performed and the product was identified by a double strand DNA enzyme immunoassay. GBV appears to infect 40 and 31% of acute or chronic non‐A‐E hepatitis respectively. Also the GBV genome was found in 1 in 10 samples of hepatocarcinoma, in 2 cases of fulminant hepatitis, and in 1 in 91 of the control group. In spite of these results the role of GBV in the etiology of liver diseases has to be analyzed in more comprehensive studies. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 14:70–72, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Keywords: GBV‐C, PCR, non‐A‐E hepatitis
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