title: Hepatitis C virus quantification in serum and saliva of HCV-infected patients.
abstract: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be detected in blood and other bodily fluids, such as saliva, semen and gastric juices. The aim of this study was to compare the HCV viral loads in the serum and saliva of infected patients. Twenty-nine patients with detectable HCV RNA in their serum and saliva were included in this study. The HCV viral loads were determined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. The median viral RNA levels were 5.78 log10 copies in the serum and 3.32 log10 copies in the saliva. We observed that the salivary HCV viral load was significantly lower than the viral load in the serum. Further studies are required to understand the role of saliva in the diagnosis, management and potential transmission of HCV.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Patologia e Biologia Molecular-Fiocruz, Rua Waldemar Falcão 121, 40296-710 Salvador, BA, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gisele Barreto Lopes
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.forename: Fernanda Albuquerque
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: César Augusto Barros
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Theomira Mauadie Azevedo
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Carmo
authors.forename: Hermes Pedreira da
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Silva Filho
authors.forename: Maria Alice
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zarife
authors.forename: Marco Aurélio
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: Eliana Almeida Gomes
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Reis
authors.forename: Mitermayer G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Reis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology*; D044967:Serum / Q000821:virology*; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral