Trasmissione verticale del virus HGV (GBV-C) in una coorte di donne gravide con infezione da HCV presso gli Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo

Objectives: A prospective analysis is reported in order to investigate the incidence of mother to infant transmission of Hepatitis G virus (HGV/GBV- C) and the clinical outcome of infected babies. Methods: We studied 55 pregnant women (belonging to a cohort of 74 women), anti-HCV and HCV RNA positive with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis, and their children. HCV RNA and HGV RNA were assessed by RT nested PCR; HCV genotypes were determined by Innolipa. Antibodies anti-HCV and anti-E2 were assayed by EIA. Follow-up testing was conducted in HGV RNA positive cases. Results: 10 women (18.2%) were HGV RNA positive, and 7 (70%) transmitted the infection to their children. Other 32 women (58.2%) developed antibody anti-E2. Their children received antibodies and lost them within the first year of life. The infected babies remained HGV RNA positive during the follow-up, 3 of them developed marginally elevated ALT (1.5 n.v.). Four babies (5.4%) resulted to be HCV RNA positive. We did not find any baby who was coinfected with HCV and HGV. The HCV RNA positive babies showed an increase in ALT value higher than HGV RNA positive babies. Conclusions: HGV vertical transmission was not correlated with maternal risk factors, HIV coinfection, HCV RNA positivity, kind of delivery. HGV RNA is frequently present in pregnant women antiHCV positive. HGV infection is efficiently transmitted from mother to child and the rate of transmission is higher than that of HCV. HGV can cause persistent infection in babies with transient evidence of liver disease.