Prevalence, incidence, and clinical characteristics of hepatitis G virus/GB virus C infection in Scottish blood donors

The prevalence, incidence, clinical features, and natural history of hepati tis G virus (HGV) or GB virus C (GBV-C) were investigated in a non-remunera ted blood donor population to determine its clinical significance and its i mpact on blood safety, Of 1020 regular blood donors, 23 (2.25%) were positi ve for plasma HGV/GBV-C RNA. Alanine aminotransferase levels were lower tha n in uninfected donors (median, 20 IU/mL; 32 IU/mL in controls; P =.015), C linical examination produced no other evidence for hepatitis or for shared nonhepatic diseases. Fifteen of 17 donors excreted HGV/GBV-C in saliva (mea n level, 8 x 10(3) copies of RNA/mL). Testing of previous donations indicat ed an incidence of 170-200 new infections with HGV/GBV-C per 100,000 donor- years. The absence of further clinicopathologic data and the limitations of current polymerase chain reaction-based methods for screening suggests tha t it is neither necessary nor practical to commence screening.