HepC BC 
PROSTITUTION IS HIGH RISK ACTIVITY FOR HGV SPREAD
Prostitution is a high risk activity for the spread of hepatitis G virus, according to a report from Taiwan.
Researcher Jaw-Ching Wu and colleagues found that while hepatitis G virus (HGV) and GB virus-C (GBV-C) were very common in prostitutes studied in the city of Taipei, GBV-C/HGV infection did not correlate with serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels of venereal disease, and that most prostitutes found to have the hepatitis infection were asymptomatic and had normal or mildly elevated ALT levels ("Prevalence and Risk Factor Analysis of GBV-C/HGV Infection in Prostitutes," Journal of Medical Virology, May 1997;52:83-85).
The recently discovered HGV virus has more than 90 percent homology in nucleotide and amino acid sequence with GBV-C. Both viruses are variants of the same virus identified by independent centers, and are members of the Flaviviridae and distantly related to hepatitis C virus (HCV).
In recent studies, GBV-C/HGV infection was found in 1.7 percent of blood donors and 7 percent to 39 percent of patients with various kinds of acute and chronic hepatitis (Simons et al., Nature Med 1995;1:564-569; Linnen et al., Science 1996;271:505-508; and others). Its role in fulminant hepatitis, however, remains controversial. While its clinical significance is still unknown, GBV-C/HGV is believed to be transmitted parenterally because a higher prevalence was found in patients who gave a history of multiple blood transfusions or intravenous drug abuse.
"Sexual contact is the most common route for horizontal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) among adults in Taiwan and sexual contact with prostitutes is the most common mode of hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection in this area," Wu et al. wrote.
It is not clear, however, whether sexual contact plays a significant role in the transmission of GBV-C/HGV. To address this question, Wu et al. tested 140 randomly-selected female prostitutes in Taipei to determine if they had GBV-C/HGV RNA. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was completed by the prostitutes with consent and questions included history of transfusion, dental procedures, injection, or acupuncture with non-disposable needles and syringes, intravenous drug abuse, tattoos, ear-piercing, frequency of paid-sex, gonorrhea, and syphilis.
Thirty (21 percent) of the women were found to have GBV-C RNA by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) although only 22 (73 percent) had HGV RNA by single round reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). The assays had nearly perfect agreement. The prevalence of GBV-C RNA in prostitutes was significantly higher than in the control group consisting of 40 age-matched, non-prostitute females (30/140 vs. 2/40, Psex more than 120 times per month was the only factor significantly associated with positive GBV-C RNA in prostitutes.
"Prostitutes are a high risk group and reservoir of GBV-C/HGV infection due to high frequency of paid-sex," Wu et al. Wrote.
"These findings support the view that GBV-C may also be transmitted by sexual contact as HBV, HCV, and HDV are. The reason for the association with younger age and HBsAg with GBV-C infection in prostitutes is unclear; however, these factors were no longer significant in multivariate analysis. They may be just dependent factors of high frequency of paid-sex. Although, GBV-C infection is highly prevalent in prostitutes, it did not correlate with serum ALT levels or venereal disease. Most were asymptomatic and had normal or mildly elevated ALT levels. Therefore, the clinical significance of GBV-C/HGV infection is still unknown."
The corresponding author for this study is Jaw-Ching Wu, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan.
HepC BC
Source: Women's Health Weekly, 6/23/97, p9, 2p.
Item Number: 9707030892