French researchers have discovered a previously unknown virus involved in hepatitis, which they tentatively named Human Circovirus (HcirV-1). This discovery allowed researchers to develop a specific PCR test for this virus.
This virus was identified in a 61-year-old female patient with unexplained chronic hepatitis and a double lung and heart transplant. The researchers making this discovery are from Institut Pasteur, Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades AP-HP, INSERM, Universite Paris Cite and Ecole National Veterinaire Alfort (EnvA). They identified a so far unknown species of circovirus. The virus has been tentatively named Human Circovirus 1 (HCirV-1), reports Sante magazine.
The findings of this research were published in the January 3, 2023 issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
This family of highly resistant DNA viruses was originally identified in 1974 in some animal species where they could be responsible for respiratory, renal, dermatological and reproductive problems. HCirV-1 is a new virus, different from the circoviruses known in animals. And its action was observed in the liver damage of a patient under immunosuppressive treatment, it is stated in the press release of the Pasteur Institute.
Pathological tissue samples from this patient under immunosuppressive treatment and with hepatitis of unidentifiable cause were sequenced for the discovery of microbial elements. And the multiplication of the virus in the liver cells was revealed. “Once this virus used the liver cell’s resources to multiply, it destroyed it,” say the French researchers. Due to an antiviral treatment, the liver enzymes returned to a normal level in this patient.
In order to adapt treatment and follow up patients, it is essential for us to know the cause of hepatitis and especially if it is viral. The identification of this new human pathogenic virus and the development of a test that can be performed in any hospital laboratory provides a useful tool for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients affected by hepatitis, explains Anne Jamet, from the clinical microbiology department at the Necker Hospital -Enfants Malades AP-HP and co-author on this study.
This discovery allowed researchers to develop a specific PCR test now available for the etiologic diagnosis of hepatitis of unknown origin.
