Emerging Infectious Diseases (Dec 2024)

Human Circovirus in Patients with Hepatitis, Hong Kong

  • Shusheng Wu,
  • Cyril Chik-Yan Yip,
  • Jianwen Situ,
  • Zhiyu Li,
  • Stanley Siu-Fung Ho,
  • Jianpiao Cai,
  • Jane Hau-Ching Poon,
  • Nicholas Foo-Siong Chew,
  • Jonathan Daniel Ip,
  • Tom Wai-Hin Chung,
  • Kelvin Hei-Yeung Chiu,
  • Anna Jinxia Zhang,
  • Estie Hon-Kiu Shun,
  • James Yiu-Hung Tsoi,
  • Jade Lee-Lee Teng,
  • David Christopher Lung,
  • Kelvin Kai-Wang To,
  • Vincent Chi-Chung Cheng,
  • Irene Oi-Lin Ng,
  • Kwok-Yung Yuen,
  • Siddharth Sridhar

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3012.241114
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 30, no. 12
pp. 2521 – 2531

Abstract

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Circovirus human is a new viral species that includes the human circovirus (HCirV), which has been linked to hepatitis in immunocompromised persons. We investigated prevalence of HCirV infection in 278 patients with hepatitis and 184 asymptomatic persons using real-time PCR and sequencing assays. HCirV viremia and sequences were found in 8 (2.9%) hepatitis patients and no asymptomatic patients. Alternate causes of hepatitis (hepatitis E and cholangitis) were clearly identifiable in 2 HCirV-infected patients. HCirV could not be ruled out as a contributor to hepatitis in the remaining 6 patients, 4 of whom were immunocompromised. Persistent infections were documented in 3 patients, but only 1 had relapsing hepatitis. One HCirV patient displayed symptoms of an infectious mononucleosis-like syndrome. Isolates clustered with known HCirV strains from France and China. HCirV-derived virus-like particles bound to PLC/PRF/5 and Hep-G2 human hepatoma cells but not to lung epithelial cells, indicating hepatic tropism.

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