Human pegivirus (HPgV)—formerly known as GBV-C—is a member of the Flaviviridae family and belongs to the species Pegivirus C. It is a non-pathogenic virus and is transmitted among humans mainly through the exposure to contaminated blood and is often associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, among other viruses. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of HPgV viremia, its association with HIV and clinical epidemiological factors, as well as the full-length sequencing and genome characterization of HPgV recovered from blood donors of the HEMOPA Foundation in Belém-PA-Brazil. Plasma samples were obtained from 459 donors, tested for the presence of HPgV RNA by the RT-qPCR. From these, a total of 26 RT-qPCR positive samples were submitted to the NGS sequencing approach in order to obtain the full genome. Genome characterization and phylogenetic analysis were conducted. The prevalence of HPgV was 12.42%. We observed the highest prevalences among donors aged between 18 and 30 years old (16.5%), with brown skin color (13.2%) and men (15.8%). The newly diagnosed HIV-1 prevalence was 26.67%. The HPgV genotype 2 (2a and 2b) was identified. No data on viral load value was found to corroborate the protective effect of HPgV on HIV evolution. This study provided information regarding the HPgV infection among blood donors from HEMOPA Foundation. Furthermore, we genetically characterized the HPgV circulating strains and described by the first time nearly complete genomes of genotype 2 in Brazilian Amazon.

中文翻译：

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巴西北部公共血液治疗服务志愿者献血者中的人类佩吉病毒 (HPgV、GBV-C) RNA


人类佩吉病毒 (HPgV)，以前称为 GBV-C，是黄病毒科的成员，属于佩吉病毒 C 种。它是一种非致病性病毒，主要通过接触受污染的血液在人类之间传播，通常通过与人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染等病毒有关。本研究旨在确定 HPgV 病毒血症的患病率、其与 HIV 和临床流行病学因素的关系，以及从巴西贝伦 PA 基金会的献血者中回收的 HPgV 的全长测序和基因组特征。从 459 名捐献者处获取血浆样本，通过 RT-qPCR 检测 HPgV RNA 的存在。其中，总共 26 个 RT-qPCR 阳性样本被提交给 NGS 测序方法以获得完整的基因组。进行了基因组表征和系统发育分析。 HPgV的患病率为12.42%。我们观察到年龄在 18 岁至 30 岁之间的捐赠者（16.5%）、棕色肤色（13.2%）和男性（15.8%）的患病率最高。新诊断的HIV-1患病率为26.67%。鉴定出 HPgV 基因型 2（2a 和 2b）。没有发现病毒载量值的数据证实 HPgV 对 HIV 进化的保护作用。这项研究提供了有关 HEMOPA 基金会献血者 HPgV 感染的信息。此外，我们对 HPgV 流行毒株进行了基因表征，并首次描述了巴西亚马逊地区基因型 2 的近乎完整的基因组。