Chronic Human Pegivirus 2 without Hepatitis C Virus Co-infection

oleh: Kelly E. Coller, Veronica Bruce, Michael Cassidy, Jeffrey Gersch, Matthew B. Frankel, Ana Vallari, Gavin Cloherty, John Hackett, Jennifer L. Evans, Kimberly Page, George J. Dawson

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020-02-01

Deskripsi

Most human pegivirus 2 (HPgV-2) infections are associated with past or current hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. HPgV-2 is thought to be a bloodborne virus: higher prevalence of active infection has been found in populations with a history of parenteral exposure to viruses. We evaluated longitudinally collected blood samples obtained from injection drug users (IDUs) for active and resolved HPgV-2 infections using a combination of HPgV-2–specific molecular and serologic tests. We found evidence of HPgV-2 infection in 11.2% (22/197) of past or current HCV-infected IDUs, compared with 1.9% (4/205) of an HCV-negative IDU population. Testing of available longitudinal blood samples from HPgV-2–positive participants identified 5 with chronic infection (>6 months viremia in >3 timepoints); 2 were identified among the HCV-positive IDUs and 3 among the HCV-negative IDUs. Our findings indicate that HPgV-2 can establish chronic infection and replicate in the absence of HCV.