NEW STRAIN OF HEPATITIS IDENTIFIED.Byline: Denise Mann Medical Tribune News Service A newly identified, potentially deadly strain of the hepatitis virus - hepatitis G Hepatitis G Definition Hepatitis G is a newly discovered form of liver inflammation caused by hepatitis G virus (HGV), a distant relative of the hepatitis C virus. - is circulating among U.S. blood donors, new research shows. All that is known about the new strain is that it is spread through blood transfusions, is present in the blood of about 1 percent of volunteer blood donors and leads to severe inflammation of the liver, California researchers report. "Now that we know such a virus exists, we need to do further studies to examine its impact," said Patrice Yarbough, director of the core research program at Genelabs, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company that found the virus. "We are going to try and understand how hepatitis G replicates, manifests itself and how it is associated with disease." After finding traces of the new strain in patients who tested negative for the other known strains of hepatitis, researchers "cloned" the new virus and are now studying it in animals, according to the report, published today in the journal Science. There are six known strains of hepatitis: A, B, C, D, E and now G. A virus dubbed hepatitis F hepatitis F An agent tentatively identified as a new, enteric virus, a finding that was not substantiated was reported in France, but little information on that virus has been uncovered since then. Hepatitis causes inflammation of the liver, and can lead to an increased risk of liver disease Liver Disease Definition Liver disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the liver. Description The liver is a large, solid organ located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. and liver cancer Liver Cancer Definition Liver cancer is a relatively rare form of cancer but has a high mortality rate. Liver cancers can be classified into two types. . The next step should be developing "a rapid, simple technique for identifying current and past infection" with hepatitis G, said Dr. Raymond Koff, chairman of medicine at Metrowest Medical Center MetroWest Medical Center is a teaching hospital in Framingham and Natick, Massachusetts. It is the largest health care provider in the MetroWest region between Boston and Worcester. in Framingham, Mass. "It is still early, but these developments might reduce the already low rate of getting hepatitis through a blood transfusion," the hepatitis expert said. "We have ways of testing for hepatitis B Hepatitis B Definition Hepatitis B is a potentially serious form of liver inflammation due to infection by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It occurs in both rapidly developing (acute) and long-lasting (chronic) forms, and is one of the most common chronic and C, but there are still cases of transfusion-related transmission. So if we can identify a test that a blood bank could use, we can eliminate risk." Some cases of chronic liver disease Chronic liver disease is a liver disease of slow process and persisting over a long period of time, resulting in a progressive destruction of the liver. It includes amongst others:
|
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion