Non-A, non-B hepatitis and antibody to hepatitis C virus.
Stored serum samples from the Transfusion-transmitted Viruses Study in the 1970s were tested for the presence of antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). Single specimens from five control subjects who did not receive transfusions tested negative for anti-HCV. Of four control subjects who did not receive transfusions and who developed non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis after hospitalization, three remained anti-HCV negative; the fourth person with postoperative NANB hepatitis tested anti-HCV positive before the operation. Five transfusion recipients with posttransfusion hepatitis B virus infection remained seronegative; a sixth with NANB hepatitis as well as hepatitis B virus infection had seroconversion for anti-HCV. Five of nine transfusion recipients with NANB hepatitis had anti-HCV seroconversion. These results show that present anti-HCV testing demonstrates an etiologic basis for approximately half of the cases of transfusion-associated NANB hepatitis, particularly those that develop chronicity. Although cases of NANB hepatitis without seroconversion may be explained otherwise, they may be caused by another, presently unidentified, virus.
Mosley
J W
JW
Transfusion transmitted Viruses Study (TTVS) Group, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Md.
Aach
R D
RD
Hollinger
F B
FB
Stevens
C E
CE
Barbosa
L H
LH
Nemo
G J
GJ
Holland
P V
PV
Bancroft
W H
WH
Zimmerman
H J
HJ
Kuo
G
G
D001803:Blood Transfusion; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies