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Prevalence of Infection and Genotypes of GBV‐C/HGV among Homosexual Men
Author(s) -
Hattori Junko,
Ibe Shiro,
Nagai Hiromi,
Wada Kaoru,
Morishita Takayuki,
Sato Katsuhiko,
Utsumi Makoto,
Kaneda Tsuguhiro
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2003.tb03445.x
Subject(s) - virology , genotype , population , biology , gb virus c , viremia , polymerase chain reaction , flaviviridae , virus , viral disease , medicine , genetics , environmental health , gene
Since the discovery of GB virus‐C (GBV‐C) and hepatitis G virus (HGV), many studies have been performed. These viruses are now known to be parenterally, as well as sexually transmitted. A phylogenetic analysis also revealed that GBV‐C has five major genotypes: type 1 predominates in West Africa, type 2 in Europe and the United States, type 3 in parts of Asia, type 4 in Southeast Asia, and type 5 in South Africa. Despite the number of reports so far, there have been few large‐scale surveys of homosexual men to determine the prevalence of the GBV‐C/HGV infections. We examined the levels of GBV‐C/HGV viremia in 297 homosexual men who attended the Nagoya Lesbian and Gay Revolution held in Nagoya, Japan. Reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR)/nested PCR of the GBV‐C/HGV 5′‐non‐coding region (NCR), and base sequence analyses showed that the infection rate was 12.5%, and genotypes in this population were classified into type 2 (32%) and type 3 (68%). None were classified as types 1, 4, or 5 in this study. Our results indicate that the GBV‐C/HGV type 2 seen mainly in Europe and the US is spreading widely in Japan, especially in the Nagoya district.