title: Prevalence of hepatitis-C virus infection in children with chronic post-transfusion hepatitis.
abstract: The prevalence of hepatitis-C virus (HCV) infection was investigated in a group of children with chronic post-transfusion hepatitis using a first- and second-generation HCV-antibody ELISA, 2 confirmatory tests (a second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay and a line immunoassay) as well as an HCV-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In 33% of the children, clear discrepancies were observed between the 4 different HCV-antibody detection assays, indicating that the serological diagnosis of HCV infection is still problematic. HCV RNA was detectable by PCR in only 69% of the antibody positive patients, which may be due to a fluctuation of viraemia during the course of infection. Such a fluctuation was demonstrated in 6 patients from whom serum samples drawn at different times were investigated. In contrast, in 8 of the 15 seronegative patients, HCV infection was identified only by PCR, although the hepatitis had already persisted for more than 2 years. Antibody assays and PCR together detected HCV infection in about 90% of the patients with chronic hepatitis. When markers of hepatitis B infection were also investigated, only 6% of the cases remained undiagnosed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Puchhammer-Stöckl
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Höcker-Schulz
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kunz
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral