title: Hepatitis C virus in the etiology of chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis: possibility of mixed viral infections due to parenteral transmission.
abstract: Sera obtained from 381 patients with chronic liver disease from four cities within the USSR were studied for HBV, HDV, and HCV markers of infection. Anti-HCV activity was detected in 41.2% of non-A, non-B cases. The etiological distribution of chronic hepatitis in Moscow and Dushanbe was similar with an approximate 20% prevalence for HBV, HDV, and HCV infections, whereas in Yakutsk 40% of cases were caused by HDV infections. The etiology of disease remained unrecognized in approximately 40% of patients with chronic liver disease in Moscow and Dushanbe and in 15% in Yakutsk. Anti-HCV activity was detected in 18.8% of patients with chronic HBV infections and in 8.3% of patients with chronic HDV infections. Anti-HCV activity was detected in 41% of patients without markers of HBV or HDV infections. The reasons for the observed differences in HCV prevalence among patients chronically infected with HDV are discussed.
authors.affiliation: D.I. Ivanovsky Institute of Virology, Academy of Medical Science, Moscow, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Favorov
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Fields
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yashina
authors.forename: E Z
authors.initials: EZ
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Yeramishantsev
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Rakchimova
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Burkov
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Lvov
mesh_terms: D016174:Hepacivirus; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D003698:Hepatitis Delta Virus; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D014586:USSR / Q000453:epidemiology