Age related prevalence of hepatitis G virus in South Africans

Aim-To investigate the age related prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) in fection and its mode of transmission in relation to hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) coinfection in South African blacks. Methods-Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed to de tect active infection, using primers for the 5'-NCR, NS5a, and NS3 regions. Antibodies to HGV envelope-2 protein (anti-E2), which measures past infect ion, were also sought. Results-The overall prevalence of active infection was 116/580 (20%). A hig her prevalence was noted in HBsAg carriers (28/106; 26.4%) and HCV positive subjects (25/82; 30.5%). In contrast to developed countries, active and pa st infection was seen in 12.9% and 12.1% of the general population, respect ively (subjects negative for HBsAg and anti-HCV markers and with normal ala nine aminotransferase values), with a total prevalence of 21.1% (52/248). V iraemia and anti-E2 were almost mutually exclusive. The distribution of vir aemia by age was: less than or equal to 15 years, 20/223 (9.0%); 16-35 year s, 42/147 (28.6%); greater than or equal to 36 years, 37/151 (24.5%), with a significant difference (p=0.001) in age related prevalence. A similar tre nd was observed for the prevalence of past infection in the general populat ion. Conclusions-HGV infection begins in childhood and increases with age in Sou th Africa, but transmission is largely independent of HBV and HCV. No assoc iation was found between HGV viraemia and hepatitis, or with co-infection w ith either HBV or HCV.