title: Non-A, non-B hepatitis and antibody to hepatitis C virus.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Transfusion transmitted Viruses Study (TTVS) Group, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, Md.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Aach
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Hollinger
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Nemo
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Bancroft
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D001803:Blood Transfusion; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies