Virus-Like Particles Associated with Reverse Transcriptase Activity in Acute Sporadic Non-A,Non-B Hepatitis

Abstract

Reverse transcriptase activity was tested in 65 patients with non-Anon-B hepatitis, with positive results in 2 acute sporadic cases with favorable outcome. Virus-like particles were observed in ultra-thin sections of successive serum samples from one of the reverse transcriptase activity-positive patients by electron microscopy. These results suggest that some non-Anon-B hepatitis types could be related to a virus-like agent associated with a reverse transcriptase activity.