title: [Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus in hemophiliacs in Switzerland].
abstract: The sera of patients with hemophilia and von Willebrand factor deficiency, collected during clinical trials with virus-inactivated coagulation factor preparations, were retrospectively screened for the presence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Using the anti-HCV c100-3 assay, 10 out of 35 study patients had no HCV antibodies when entering the studies. The samples originally negative for anti-HCV were retested with a second-generation assay: all negative samples except two were positive on retesting. We conclude that the HCV seroprevalence in Swiss hemophiliacs must be of the order of > 90%. These results confirm that the first-generation assay for HCV antibodies is not sensitive enough; to obtain more accurate information on the seroprevalence of hemophiliacs, second-generation tests should be used.
authors.affiliation: ZLB Zentrallaboratorium Blutspendedienst SRK, Bern.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Perret
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Senn
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Affentranger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poorbeik
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Burckhardt
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morell
mesh_terms: D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000276:immunology*; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D007158:Immunologic Techniques; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014842:von Willebrand Diseases / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies
vernacular_title: Hepatitis-C-Virus-Serostatus der Hämophilen in der Schweiz.