Infrequent vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus.
The rate of vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was determined by a combination of assays for anti-HCV antibody and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 66 children born to infected mothers. Only 4 children showed evidence of infection with HCV, being positive for anti-HCV in all samples collected from 6 months to 5 years of age. All samples from the remaining 62 children were repeatedly anti-HCV-negative on screening by two second-generation antibody assays. Furthermore, samples collected at age 12 months from 30 antibody-negative children born of HCV-infected mothers were uniformly PCR-negative, showing that "seronegative" infection with HCV was rare or absent in this study group. Serologic reactivity to HCV-encoded antigens in samples from infected children was largely confined to the HCV core protein. Infection with human immunodeficiency virus in the mother was not a significant cofactor for mother-to-child transmission of HCV.
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
J P
JP
Lam
F
F
McOmish
S M
SM
Burns
P L
PL
Yap
J Y
JY
Mok
P
P
Simmonds
D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral