Hepatitis G Fact Sheet

Bloodborne Pathogens Section

Cause

• Hepatitis G Virus (HGV). Also known as GB virus-C (GBV-C)
• HGV and GB virus-C were discovered about the same time, and are thought to be different strains of the same virus. Referred to below as HGV/GBV-C.
• HGV/GBV-C was first described in 1995-96
• HGV/GBV-C is a single stranded RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family

Clinical Characteristics

• Carrier rate of between 2 and 5% in the general population.
• Causes persistent infection for up to 9 years in 15-30% of adults.
• HGV/GBV-C is often found in co-infections with other viruses, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• There is little proof that Hepatitis G (Hep G) causes serious liver disease at any age. It is possible that HGV/GBV-C may not be a true 'hepatitis' virus.

Signs and Symptoms

• Almost no cases have symptoms like the other Hepatitis viruses.

Modes of Transmission

• Transmitted by infected blood or blood products
• HGV/GBV-C can be transmitted by sharing personal items contaminated with the virus and other similar behaviours (parenterally), from mother-to-newborn child at birth (vertical), or various sexual activities.

Persons at Risk

Prevention

• If you are regularly exposed to blood or blood products from others, try to protect yourself with gloves to reduce the risk of the spread of viruses.
• If you use injection drugs, ensure you use clean, sterile needles. Sharing needles, syringes or other drug-use equipment with others can put you at risk of infection.

Treatment

• There is currently no recommended treatment for Hep G.

Canadian Data on the trends of HGV

• Evidence of HGV/GBV-C is found in 1-4% of the Canadian blood donor population (2001).

Reference: Bloodborne Pathogens Section, Blood Safety Surveillance and Health Care Acquired Infections Division, Health Canada, 2003