title: Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among family members of patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: In this study, 108 family members of 40 chronically HCV-infected patients (19 post-transfusion and 21 sporadic), and 45 families of 16 anti-HCV-negative index cases (control group) were tested for anti-HCV antibodies. Anti-HCV antibodies were found in 16 (14.8%) families of anti-HCV-positive index cases (15% males and 14.6% females; p = NS), with no difference between families of index cases with post-transfusion and those with sporadic HCV infection. Out of the 16 anti-HCV positive family members, 12 (75%) had clinical and/or serological evidence of chronic liver damage. None of the control group subjects were anti-HCV-positive (p < 0.01). The rate of anti-HCV positivity was 34.4% among spouses, 14.3% among siblings, 16.7% among cohabitants and 2.3% among children; anti-HCV antibodies were not detected among parents. We found a positive correlation between the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies among families and the severity of the HCV-related chronic liver damage of the index cases (p < 0.00005). In addition, to confirm that HCV infection and HCV-related chronic hepatitis may be transmitted intrafamiliarly, our findings also indicate that horizontal, especially sexual contact, is a more important route of HCV infection than vertical/perinatal transmission. Finally, the risk of acquiring HCV infection among families appears to be the highest when index cases are suffering from severe HCV-related chronic hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Policattedra di Clinica Medica e Malattie Infettive, Università di Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fera
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schiraldi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies