A high prevalence of serum GB virus C hepatitis G virus RNA in children with and without liver disease

The role of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) in adult and pediatric liver disease is unclear. We detected serum GBV-C/HGV RNA by reverse trans criptase polymerase chain reaction in 1 (3%) of 38 cholestatic infants, in 4 (4%) of 95 children without liver disease, and in none of 30 children wit h autoimmune hepatitis. One cholestatic infant had antibodies, presumably m aternal, to GBV-C/HGV. Sequence analysis of a nonstructural 3 region fragme nt suggested that mother-to-infant transmission was the route of infection for the cholestatic infant. The four infected children without liver diseas e had normal liver function test results and lacked risk factors for bloodb orne infections. Thus, the detection of GBV-C/HGV RNA among children with a nd without liver disease suggests that chronic GBV-C/ HGV infections may be established early in life, possibly by mother-to-infant transmission. This may explain in part the high prevalence of serum GBV-C/HGV RNA and antibod ies in healthy adults.