Detection of the GBV-C hepatitis virus genome in serum from patients with fulminant hepatitis of unknown aetiology

Yoshiba, Makoto
Okamoto, Hiroaki
Mishiro, Shunji

Department of Gastroenterology, Fujigaoka Hospital, Showa University School of Medicine, Yokohama (M Yoshiba MD); Immunology Division, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi (H Okamoto MD); and Department of Medical Sciences, Toshiba General Hospital, Tokyo (S Mishiro MD), Japan
Correspondence to: Dr Shunji Mishiro, Department of Medical Sciences, Toshiba General Hospital, 6-3-22 Higashi Oh-i, Shinagawa, Tokyo 140, Japan

The Lancet 346(8983):p 1131-1132, October 28, 1995.

Hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D, and E have not accounted for all cases of hepatitis, hence "non A-E" agent(s) might be implicated. A set of new viruses (GBV-A, -B, and -C) whose genomes have been sequenced, are being investigated as possible causes of non A-E hepatitis. We investigated six cases of fulminant hepatitis of unknown aetiology for the presence of GBV-C genome in their serum, and three showed positive signals by semi-nested PCR using primers derived from the NS3/helicase region. Nucleotide sequence analyses confirmed these signals to be derived from a GBV-C sequence. The results suggest the importance of GBV-C in the aetiology of fulminant hepatitis.

Lancet 1995; 346

1131-32