title: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA among anti-HCV-positive blood donors and their recipients.
abstract: Seven of 24 blood donors positive in Ortho's first-generation antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) test (EIA-1) were also positive in Ortho's second-generation test (EIA-2). All 7 had at least two anti-HCV positive recipients, whereas only 1 of the 17 EIA-2-negative donors had an anti-HCV-positive recipient. This recipient was a multitransfused patient with von Willebrand's disease. Five of the 7 EIA-2-positive donors had detectable HCV RNA. We traced and tested 38 of the still living blood recipients from the 7 EIA-2-positive donors. Twenty-eight of these were EIA-2 positive and 22 were HCV-PCR positive. One patient with Waldenstroem's hypergammaglobulinemia was EIA-2 negative but HCV-PCR positive. All the EIA-2-positive sera showed reactivity in Ortho's recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA-2), but 5 of the 28 recipients and 1 of the donors reacted with only one band (RIBA-2 indeterminate). Among 32 recipients who probably had received EIA-2-positive blood, 29 (91%) had markers of an HCV infection. Twenty-two (75%) of the HCV-infected recipients had detectable HCV RNA more than 6 months after transfusion and hence were chronic HCV carriers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Ullevaal Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skaug
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Jonassen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Figenschau
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001782:Blood Donors; D004247:DNA; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000635:transmission*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D004247:DNA