Human pegivirus-1 (HPgV-1, GBV-C) RNA prevalence and genotype diversity among volunteer blood donors from an intra-hospital hemotherapy service in Southern Brazil.

Objective: Human pegivirus (HPgV-1, GBV-C) is classified within the Pegivirus genus of the Flaviviriade family. The natural history of HPgV-1 infection is still unclear, however, the main route of viral transmission seems to be the parenteral one. The detection of HPgV-1 viremia in blood donors without parenteral exposure demonstrates that other routes of HPgV-1 transmission might also exist.