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 hepatitis G virus (HGV) or GB virus C (GBV-C) were investigated in a non-remunerated blood donor population to determine its clinical significance and its impact on blood safety. Of 1020 regular blood donors, 23 (2.25%) were positive for plasma HGVIGBV-C RNA. Alanine aminotransferase levels were lower than in uninfected donors (median, 20 IU/mL; 32 IU/mL in controls; P = .015). Clinical examination produced no other evidence for hepatitis or for shared nonhepatic diseases. Fifteen of 17 donors excreted HGVIGBV-C in saliva (mean level, 8 x 10 3 copies of RNA/mL). Testing of previous donations indicated an incidence of 170-200 new infections with HGVIGBV-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 that it is neither necessary nor practical to commence screening.