title: Seroepidemiology of hepatitis C virus in Beijing, China.
abstract: To investigate the seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in China we tested sera from healthy individuals without hepatitis and no history of parenteral blood exposure and from patients admitted to a hepatitis hospital in Beijing. Sera were tested for anti-HCV by first-generation enzyme immunoassay; selected positives were tested with two second-generation EIAs, one utilizing recombinant antigens and the other synthetic peptides. We found anti-HCV with the following frequencies: 10 of 164 (6%) individuals with no disease; 2 of 36 (5.5%) patients with acute non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH); 26 of 39 (67%) patients with post-transfusion NANBH; 10 of 34 (29%) patients with chronic hepatitis negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg); 3 of 30 (10%) patients with chronic HBsAg-positive hepatitis; 0 of 19 patients with acute HBsAg-positive hepatitis. Of 24 repeat-positive sera, 19 were positive by both and 4 by one second-generation tests. We conclude that hepatitis C infection is common in China, that it contributes substantially to the incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis, and that HCV plays a significant role in both acute and chronic hepatitis. Further studies are needed to extend these observations and to define the predominant routes of transmission of HCV in China.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia and St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Sherlock
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: X L
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Stiver