Involved factors in the intrafamilial spread of hepatitis C virus.
To investigate the risk of non-parenteral HCV infection, sera from 302 relatives of 120 anti-HCV positive subjects were tested for the presence of anti-HCV antibodies. For the sake of comparison, sera from 17,000 blood donors were also assayed. The prevalence of HCV positivity was 4.3% in household contacts, compared to 0.78% in the donor population, indicating a significantly higher risk of infection for family members. Close personal contact may not be as critical a factor for infection as is duration of the disease.
Riestra
S
S
Gastroenterology Section, Covadonga Hospital, Oviedo, Spain.
Rodríguez
M
M
Suárez
S
S
Navascués
C A
CA
Tevar
F
F
Lombraña
J L
JL
Pérez
R
R
Rodrigo
L
L
D001782:Blood Donors; D016358:Contact Tracing; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male