Absence of hepatitis C viral RNA from saliva and semen of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
Body fluids from 14 patients with chronic hepatitis C were analyzed for the presence of hepatitis C viral RNA using the polymerase chain reaction. Nucleic acids were extracted from serum, saliva, and semen in guanidinium thiocyanate, subjected to reverse transcription, and then amplified by a double polymerase chain reaction technique using "nested" primers from the highly conserved 5' non-coding region of the hepatitis C virus genome. Hepatitis C viral RNA was found in the serum of all patients in titers ranging between 10(-1) and 10(-3). The hepatitis C viral genome was not detected in any saliva or semen sample. These findings suggest that body fluids of patients with chronic hepatitis C are rarely, if ever, contaminated with the hepatitis C virus. This may help to explain the infrequent transmission of this disease by sexual or close physical contact.
Fried
M W
MW
Liver Diseases Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
Shindo
M
M
Fong
T L
TL
Fox
P C
PC
Hoofnagle
J H
JH
Di Bisceglie
A M
AM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D012661:Semen / Q000382:microbiology*
D012367:RNA, Viral