| [ Summary ] |
GBV-C is a recently identified single strand RNA virus belonging to the flavivirus family. GBV-C has been detected in sera from patients with fulminant hepatitis of unknown etiology. The role of this new virus in fulminant hepatitis, however, remains unclear. In order to ascertain the causal relationship between GBV-C and fulminant hepatitis, it is necessary to clarify the association between serum virus and transaminase levels.Because the level of viremia in fulminant hepatitis is generally very low, detection of the causal viral RNA requires a highly sensitive method. Although competitive RT-PCR is sensitive and semiquantitative, its reproducibility is poor, such that a new method is required to quantify serum GBV-C RNA. Furthermore, to ascertain whether an identical virus is responsible for fulminant hepatitis throughout clinical course, we must sequence GBV-C RNA from a single patient's serum collected at different points during the clinical course. |