title: Confirmation of hepatitis C virus transmission through needlestick accidents by molecular evolutionary analysis.
abstract: To document the transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) through needlestick accidents, 3 health workers who acquired HCV through such accidents and their HCV donor patients were studied using molecular evolutionary analysis based on the HCV E2 region. At least six clones were sequenced from each subject. Nucleotide substitutions were estimated by the six-parameter method, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method. HCV isolates from the donor patient and the recipient were nested in one monophyletic cluster; this clustering was confirmed to be statistically significant by bootstrap analysis. The nucleotide divergence among the isolates from the recipient was always smaller than that from the donor, supporting the notion that the direction of transmission was from the donor to the recipient. These findings provide evidence, at a molecular evolutionary level, that HCV was transmitted through needlestick accidents.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Medicine, Nagoya City University Medical School.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizokami
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sodeyama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kiyosawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gojobori
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D002081:Buttocks / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D005383:Finger Injuries / Q000821:virology; D006230:Hand Injuries / Q000821:virology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral