02105nas a2200433   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001000055653000900065653002200074653001800096653001100114653001900125653001700144653002800161653001100189653001000200653001200210653000900222653001600231653002800247653001500275653001800290100001200308700001300320700001400333700001200347700001200359700001300371700001200384700001400396700001500410700001300425245006000438300001000498490000700508520114200515022001401657       1996                            d  c1996 Jun10aAdult10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aBase Sequence10aFemale10aFetal Proteins10aFlaviviridae10aFlaviviridae Infections10aHumans10aJapan10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aMolecular Sequence Data10aRNA, Viral10aTransaminases1 aEgawa K1 aYukawa T1 aArakawa S1 aNakao H1 aInoue T1 aTanaka T1 aTsuda F1 aOkamoto H1 aMiyakawa Y1 aMayumi M00aInfection with GB virus C in leprous patients in Japan.  a110-40 v493 a<p>The detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in blood donors and patients with acute and chronic hepatitis has brought to the fore another virus or viruses which can be transmitted parenterally and induce liver disease. The RNA of a candidate virus designated GB virus C (GBV-C) was determined by the polymerase chain reaction with primers deduced from a helicase-like region in 229 leprous patients in Japan. GBV-C RNA was detected in 12 (5.2%) patients, and HCV RNA in 41 (18%). Three patients were coinfected with GBV-C and HCV. The nine patients infected with GBV-C alone had aminotransferase levels lower than the three patients with the mixed infection or the 38 patients infected with HCV only (P < 0.001). Sequence comparison within 100 base pairs in the helicase-like region suggested that two, three and three patients, respectively, would have been infected with three distinct strains of GBV-C. These results indicate that patients with leprosy are at increased risk for infection not only with HCV, but also with GBV-C, and that the infection with GBV-C alone would not induce hepatic injuries as severe as HCV infection.</p>  a0146-6615