title: Comparison of three different immunoassays and PCR for the detection of hepatitis C virus infection in pregnant women in Taiwan.
abstract: To compare different hepatitis C virus (HCV) immunoassays and HCV-RNA in pregnant women, we investigated two independent groups: 1,687 cases without screening for serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (group A) and 333 cases with elevated ALT (> 45 IU/l) (group B), after screening 21,459 pregnant women. In group A, 11 (0.65%) and 21 (1.24%) were anti-HCV-positive by first- and second-generation tests, respectively, while in group B 8 (2.40%) and 19 (5.71%) were positive, respectively. The results revealed by second-generation assays based on either recombinant protein or synthetic peptides were identical, as were the anti-HCV titers in group B. Among 40 second-generation anti-HCV-positive cases, 18 (86%) of 21 in group A and 17 (89%) of the 19 in group B contained serum HCV-RNA by RT-PCR. Thus the prevalence of anti-HCV in Taiwanese pregnant women is 1.24% versus 5.71% in those with elevated ALT level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Leu
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan