Antibodies to E2 protein of hepatitis G virus in children: Different responses according to age at infection☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
Group 1
From June 1996 to March 1997, we recruited 28 infants born to HGV RNA–positive but HCV- and human immunodeficiency virus–negative mothers who were identified from a screening program during prenatal care at National Taiwan University Hospital. The age of entry ranged between 2 months and 11 months. The latest follow-up age ranged from 4 to 24 months. Blood samples were obtained from these infants every 3 months until 2 consecutive samples showed negative results for HGV RNA. Mother-to-infant
HGV RNA and Anti-E2 ELISA
All the 17 infants were persistently HGV RNA–positive during follow-up except 1 (patient 7) who converted to HGV RNA–negative status at the age of 24 months (Table I).
Infant Follow-up age (mo)* Sex HGV RNA Anti-E2 (age) Peak ALT level† (U/L) 1 3-6 M P N (6) 84‡ 2 6-18 F P N (14) 21 3 6-12 M P N (12) 19 4 7-10 M P N (10) 59† 5 5-18 M P N (12) 50† 6 4-21 F P N (12) 46 7 8-24 F P N (12) 42 8 4-13 F P N (13) 18 9 5-18 F P N (12) 22 10 5 M P N (5) 18 11 2-6 F P N (6) 16 12
Discussion
Our study of mother-to-infant HGV transmission revealed a high rate of viral persistence in the offspring. Chronic HGV infection, defined as persistent viremia for more than 6 months, accounts for 30% to 90% of all subjects infected as adults,3, 5 whereas 100% of the maternally infected infants in this study were chronically infected according to the same criteria. Except for patient 1 in group 1, all infants were likely to be infected by their mothers, because infants as young as 2 to 3 months
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Neonatal hepatitis and congenital infections
2011, Liver Disease in Children, Fourth EditionPrevalence and correlates of GB virus C infection in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected pregnant women in Bangkok, Thailand
2011, Journal of Medical VirologyThe prevalence of GB virus C/hepatitis G virus RNA among healthy and HCV-infected Catalan children
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From the Departments of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Hepatitis Research Center, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Supported by a grant from National Taiwan University (NTUH-N87215).
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Reprint requests: Mei-Hwei Chang, MD, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and the National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan South Rd, Taipei, Taiwan 10016.
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0022-3476/98/$5.00 + 0 9/21/92045