Identification of a new hepatitis B virus recombinant D2/D3 in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Two hundred forty million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) worldwide. The rise of globalization has facilitated the emergence of novel HBV recombinants and genotypes. We evaluated HBV genotypes and recombinants, mutations associated with resistance to antivirals (AVs), progression of hepatic illness, and inefficient hepatitis B vaccination responses in chronically infected individuals in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Short communication: Evaluation of GB virus C/hepatitis G viral load among HIV type 1-coinfected patients in São Paulo, Brazil.

Recent studies suggest that GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) infection in HIV-positive individuals is associated with a slower progression to AIDS, leading to a lower HIV viral load and higher counts of CD4(+) T cells, although many studies have failed to demonstrate these beneficial effects. We developed a Real-Time PCR (TaqMan RT qPCR) to quantify the viral load of GBV-C/HGV in 102 HIV-1-infected patients, who were also evaluated for the presence of anti-E2. The prevalence of GBV-C/HGV infection was 21% among infected patients and the mean plasma viral load was 3.