Frequency rate of active hepatitis G virus infection among human immunodeficiency virus infected patients in Tehran

Hepatitis virus infections are common in patients suffering from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to similar transmission routes of these viruses. Hepatitis virus infections lead to impaired survival in HIV positive patients. In contrast to the expectations, some studies indicate that HGV infection slows down the progression and eventually death of AIDS patients. The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of active HGV infection among HIV infected patients in Tehran. Flow cytometric analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations was performed on blood samples of 103 patients with HIV infection referring to the central laboratory of Iranian blood transfusion organization. Their plasma samples were analyzed for the presence of HGV RNA by RT-PCR. HGV Positive cases were confirmed by PCR-ELISA. Of 103 HIV-positive patients, 16 (15.5%) were HGV RNA-positive. It was apparent that the frequency of HGV in patients with CD4 count above 500 cell/μl is higher. Sucha frequency is not high compared with those found in other studies. The high frequency of active HGV infection in patients with asymptomatic HIV infection may be due to the loss of active HGV infection in patients with advanced HIV infection.