Molecular detection and genotyping of Human Pegivirus-1 (HPgV-1) identified by metagenomics among Brazilian patients with fulminant hepatitis

Fulminant hepatitis is a severe clinical condition characterized by deterioration of the liver function and encephalopathy. In a metagenomic study that was related to elucidation of infectious causes of fulminant hepatitis in a group of 27 patients with this condition, we observed an expressive quantity of reads of the Human pegivirus-1 (HPgV-1) in all tested pools. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, molecular characteristics and HPgV-1 circulating genotypes in patients with clinical diagnosis of fulminant hepatitis.