[Prevalence of hepatitis G virus among Tunisian blood donors]

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Abstract
Prevalence of hepatitis G virus among Tunisian blood donors Hepatitis G virus [GBV-C/HGV] is a recently identified virus which occurs worldwide. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV in Tunisia has not been previously studied. We aimed to assess the prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection in Tunisian blood donors. A total of 912 blood donors were tested for anti-E2 antibodies of GBV-C/HGV by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and 600 were tested by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. GBV-C/HGV RNA was found in 5.3% of the sample and HGV antibodies occurred in 4.9%. A correlation was noticed between GBV-C/HGV infection and hepatitis C virus [P = 0.006]. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV is similar to that reported worldwideCitation
Mastouri, M., Safer, I.L., Pozzetto, B., Bourlet, T. & Khedher, M. (2005). [Prevalence of hepatitis G virus among Tunisian blood donors]. EMHJ - Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 11 (5-6), 1053-1060, 2005 https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/117038