Clinical implications of mother-to-child transmission of HCV.
Testing for vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in infants and children will enable early identification of the majority of uninfected HCV-exposed infants and children, and will provide significant emotional relief for the parents.


CONCLUSIONS
The small percentage of infected children should be offered enrollment in well-designed clinical trials of optimal medical management for prevention of the predicted long-term outcomes of chronic HCV infection: chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Kesson
Alison M
AM
Department of Virology and Microbiology, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia. alisonk2@chw.edu.au
D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000628:therapy / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical