6
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research

Section Review Anti-infectives: Developments in viral hepatitis during 1995

&
Pages 739-746 | Published online: 29 Feb 2008
 

Abstract

The discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1987 and the subsequent development of diagnostic tests has accounted for the majority of cases of viral hepatitis throughout the world. However, a significant number of cases cannot be assigned to any of the viral hepatitis groups (A - E). During 1995 two companies reported the identification of novel hepatitis viruses known as GBV-B and hepatitis G virus (HGV), which were found to be responsible for a large proportion of the remaining undiagnosed cases. Sequence analysis of these two viruses revealed them to be isolates of the same virus and, moreover, to be close homologues of HCV. The clinical significance of these new viruses is currently unclear, but preliminary epidemiologic evidence suggests they are often found as co-infections with HCV. The close similarity of these viruses to HCV and the fact that related viruses have also been identified which infect small primates, suggests that they may be useful as surrogate agents for the identification of novel therapeutic agents against HCV. Current therapeutic agents against HCV are still disappointing although more encouraging data have been reported on long-term combination therapy with interferon-′ and ribavirin. Studies have continued aimed towards developing assays for biochemical functions specified by viral proteins and these are stili mainly focused on the multi-functional NS3 protein.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.