Posted on 08/23/2011 6:13:09 PM PDT by decimon
Should we be screening blood for hepatisi G?
Hepatitis G virus was identified in 1995. Some little research was carried out on the virus and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared it a non-harmful virus in 1997. Researchers in Saudi Arabia, writing in the International Journal of Immunological Studies present evidence to suggest that this may have been the wrong decision. They claim that transmission of the virus through donated blood that was not screened for the virus as well as infection through other routes has led to an increase in cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
Hepatitis G virus (HGV) was renamed as GB virus C (GBV-C) and is a virus in the Flaviviridae family but has not yet been assigned to a genus. Intriguingly, some evidence suggests that co-infection with the AIDS virus, HIV, somehow enhances the immune system in those patients. However, it is the effects of the virus on the livers of otherwise healthy patients that is of concern to Mughis Uddin Ahmed of the King Abdulaziz Hospital (NGHA) in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. He points out that since the FDA declared the virus not to cause health problems to humans in 1997, no donated blood has been screened for this virus.
However, Mughis Uddin Ahmed has carried out a review of the scientific literature for the last 16 years that show the virus to be quite prevalent around the globe. Moreover, there is a correlation with infection with this virus and hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver and it is possibly linked to hepatocellular carcinoma. Mughis Uddin Ahmed also found an apparent link with hematological disorders and hematological malignancies.
For this reason, he suggests that research should be carried out into this virus to determine whether it is a true human pathogen and a viral carcinogen. He also advises that screening of donated blood for this virus should be reinstated urgently rather than healthcare workers continuing to transferring the virus ignorantly to blood recipients and risking the same morbidity and mortality outcomes seen with hepatitis C virus transferred from donor to recipient until screening for that virus was adopted.
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"Hepatitis G virus (HGV): where we stand and what to do?" in Int. J. Immunological Studies, 2011, 1, 255-263
Ping
Interesting article, one of many you’ve posted. Where do you find them; is there some accumulator site?
You have my deepest sympathy. Liver cancer took my good ol' scout in 2003.
My condolences.
I have long suspected that many types of cancer are caused by a bacteria or virus. I’d like to see some research done in these areas.
I get most from eurekalert.org.
; is there some accumulator site?
eurekalert.org is one. But do a search on this title or others I post and you'll often see precisely the same on several sites. That's one reason that many of these stories get posted a few times over a few days.
Two common sites are Science Daily and Phys Org.
liver cancer is common in some parts of Africa. some cases are from hepatitis B, others from a toxic mold that growns on grain and groundnuts/peanuts.
However, primary liver cancer is rare in the US: most cases are metastatic, spread from other areas of the body. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a proven case of it in the US, even though I worked in areas where cirrhosis was common.
Terrible story. Sorry to see of your losses.
Sometimes ‘world renowned’ doctors, the ones that ‘wrote the book,’ will miss. Nothing to do but move on to another doc if the first isn’t helping.
If these guys are right then maybe it's that our blood supply is not much tainted with Hep G.
My brother died of colon cancer in 1993. It metastisized to the liver, and then to his whole body.
He had the resectioning of the colon operation, but it was too late.
He opted not to have chemo, as he knew he was terminal, and lived another 8 months, only deteriorating in the final two months.
The cancer, when it got to his spine cut off all feeling from his mid-thorax down. That was a blessing.
He was 52, not a smoker, and was always physically fit. Hospice at home was so helpful, and we were all with him when he passed.
Turns out we have a genetic disposition for colon cancer in our family. We have regular colonoscopys and so far no one else has come down with it—siblings range from 57 to 67.
There are more Hepatitis Viruses other than G that could cause Liver Cancer. Hepatitis B, C and there is one or two more that could be culprits. It would be important to do research here in the states.
> I have long suspected that many types of cancer are caused by a bacteria or virus. I’d like to see some research done in these areas.
I’ve had the same suspicions for almost all diseases.
They thought ulcers were caused by stress. Later they found out it was a bacteria. Recently (within the past year) the same bacteria was identified as the probably cause for alzheimers.
Testing of heart attack patients reveals a nearly 100% presence of chlamydia pneumoniae. In the population who have never had a heart attack it’s about 1/3.
Pathogens, in my opinion, cause everything. Just because we can’t identify a pathogen is no reason not to look or to doubt its existence.
Almost every human being makes use of just one allele out of the 82 known to exist in human populations.
I am not surprised that there's a Saudi researcher who thinks there's a virus at work ~ but it may not be "universal". It could be he has a concentration of Berbers there in Saudi (at least more than other places) and they are close relatives to the Sa'ami, and they are the possessors of most of those 82 infrequently occuring alleles.
He might get in touch with the Swedes and Finns to see if they have any research results similar to his.
Interesting. Thanks. I have not seen your posts about that. I’ll look for them.
Science Daily, Phys Org, and eurekalert.org - thanks, sounds good.
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