Chronic liver disease among US military patients: The role of hepatitis C and G virus infection

Thirty-nine patients with chronic liver disease who were being evaluated in a U.S. military treatment facility were tested for antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) and for hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA by reverse transcript ase-polymerase chain reaction. Serum samples from 20 patients (51%) were po sitive for anti-HCV by immunoblot assay. HGV RNA was found in the sera of o nly two patients, both of whom were also positive for anti-HCV. HGV appears to have a limited role in causing chronic liver disease in this population of military patients, many of whom had traveled outside the United States. However, HCV infection was commonly associated with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, as in civilian patients.