HCV-Infection in blood donors: association between anti-HCV core IgM antibodies and serum HCV RNA.
Among 47 blood donors tested positive with HCV EIA 2.0 Abbott, 27 (57.4%) also reacted with four ¿third-generation' EIAs. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was confirmed with 3 different immunoblot assays in 16 of 27 sera (34.0%) while 10 samples (21.3%) had indeterminate profile with antibodies usually directed against structural core antigen. Anti-HCV core IgM response was found in 12 of 47 sera (25.5%) and HCV viremia detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure was observed in 15 samples (31.9%). A comparative study of the different markers confirmed a good correlation between a strong antibody response in EIAs and immunoblot assays and the presence of HCV RNA in the serum; only 2 immunoblot indeterminate samples were PCR positive. An association was observed between IgM antibodies against "core' epitopes and HCV RNA carriage: all IgM-positive sera were found positive by PCR. However, the direct detection of viral genome remains the best method for identifying HCV carriers in the blood donor population.
Ounanian-Paraz
A
A
Laboratoire de Virologie, CHU/Faculté de Médecine, Grenoble, France.
Morel-Baccard
C
C
Barlet
V
V
Gueddah
N
N
Schweizer
B
B
Bensa
J C
JC
Zarski
J P
JP
Seigneurin
J M
JM
D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001782:Blood Donors; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007163:Immunosorbent Techniques; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D000410:Alanine Transaminase