{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T07:38:08Z","timestamp":1791185888746,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Journal of Infection in Developing Countries","issue":"01","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Infect Dev Ctries"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Screening blood donors for blood-borne pathogens is very critical for the recipient\u2019s safety. Similar to hepatitis B and C infections, hepatitis G infection is transmitted through contaminated blood and causes acute and chronic hepatitis. Previous reports have shown that the prevalence of hepatitis G virus (HGV) RNA among healthy Saudi donors was 1%-2%. However, the exposure rate of this virus has never been studied. We hypothesized that the prevalence of HGV infection may have changed overtime due to socio-economic and environmental factors. Since hepatitis B and C infections are endemic in Saudi Arabia, we investigated the exposure rate of HGV infection in healthy donors and chronically infected hepatitis B and C patients. Methodology: A prospective study was done on healthy donors and patients with chronic HBV and HCV infections. Hepatitis B and C viral loads were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction. HGV exposure rate was evaluated by detection of HGV antibodies. Results: Analysis of samples from healthy donors (n = 210), chronic HBV+ patients (n = 169), and chronic HCV+ patients (n = 105) showed that nine samples (4.3%), seven samples (4.1%), and four samples (3.8%) were positive for HGV antibodies, respectively. The non-significant difference in the exposure rates of HGV between the study groups may indicate that HGV infection occurs independent of HBV or HCV infections. Conclusions: We showed for the first time that the exposure rate of HGV infection among the Saudi population is 4.3%, and we recommend HGV screening for all blood donors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3855\/jidc.3796","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,15]],"date-time":"2014-01-15T08:44:17Z","timestamp":1389775457000},"page":"110-115","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Hepatitis G virus in Saudi blood donors and chronic hepatitis B and C patients"],"prefix":"10.3855","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Abdulkarim","family":"Alhetheel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Malak Mohsen","family":"El-Hazmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2222","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,15]]},"container-title":["The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/download\/24423720\/988","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/download\/24423720\/988","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2019,7,9]],"date-time":"2019-07-09T04:18:45Z","timestamp":1562645925000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jidc.org\/index.php\/journal\/article\/view\/24423720"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,15]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"01","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,14]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3855\/jidc.3796","relation":{},"ISSN":["1972-2680"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1972-2680","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,1,15]]}}}