Genotype distribution of the GB virus C in citizens of Säo Paulo City, Brazil

There has been several studies worldwide on phylogenetics and genotype distribution of the GB-virus C / Hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV). However, in their great majority, those investigations were based on some epidemiologically linked group, rather than on a representative sampling of the general population. The present is a continuation of the first study in Brazil with such a population; it addresses the GBV-C/HGV phylogenetics and genotype distribution based on samples identified among more than 1,000 individuals of the city of Säo Paulo. For this purpose, a 728 bp fragment of the 5 non-coding region (5 NCR) of the viral genome, from 24 isolates, was sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Genotypes 1, 2a and 2b were found at 8.3 percent (2/24), 50 percent (12/24) and 41.7 percent (10/24), respectively. In conclusion Säo Paulo displays a genotype distribution similar to the published data for other States and Regions of Brazil, endorsing the notion that types 1 and 2 would have entered the country with African and European people, respectively, since its earliest formation

New prevalence estimate of TT virus (TTV) infection in low- and high-risk population from Säo Paulo, Brazil

The prevalence of TT virus (TTV) infection was investigated by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) in low- (blood donors and healthy children/adolescents) and high-risk (hemophiliacs) groups from Säo Paulo, Brazil. Primers based on the untranslated region (UTR) of the viral genome proved to be much more ubiquitous, leading to much higher frequencies for both groups ( > or = 81 percent) than the earlier N22-PCR directed to the open reading frame 1 (blood donors, 5.5 percent, and hemophiliacs, 42.3 percent). The UTR-PCR also revealed an interesting profile for healthy children/adolescents: very high prevalence at the early years and significant decrease in male teenagers. The N22-PCR, in turn, demonstrated higher frequency in hemophiliacs treated with fresh blood products (58 percent), than in those treated with virus-inactivated clotting factors (9.4 percent) and blood donors (5.5 percent)