Background: Infections with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and the familially related hepatitis G virus (HGV) threaten survival of liver transplant recipients. The prevalence and pathogenic effects of these hepatitis virus infections, in particular HGV, on clinical outcome and the need for surveillance are controversial. The present study examined the prevalence of HCV and HGV infections using polymerase chain reaction-based molecular methods in Iranian patients who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation (oLT).
Materials and methods: Between 2007 and 2010, 202 EDTA-treated blood samples were obtained before and after liver transplantation in 106 patients. An optimized qualitative in-house multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction protocol was used for simultaneous diagnosis of HCV and HGV infections.
Results: Hepatitis C virus molecular infection was diagnosed in 13 of 202 plasma samples (6.4%) in 10 of 106 patients (9.4%) before and after oLT. Eleven of 202 plasma samples (5.4%) from 10 of 106 patients (9.4%) demonstrated HGV genome infection before and after oLT.
Conclusion: Detection of moderate prevalence of HCV and especially HGV infection in liver transplant recipients suggests potential importance of HCV infection in liver dysfunction and supports the hypothesis that HGV infection has a pathogenic role in liver-related clinical complications.
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