title: Detection of occult hepatitis C virus among healthy spouses of patients with HCV infection.
abstract: The criterion standard for the diagnosis of occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is detection of HCV-RNA in liver cells. However, because of the invasive nature of liver biopsy, other methods have been studied. The present study aimed to identify subjects with occult HCV-4 infection among healthy sexual partners of patients with chronic HCV-4 infection by detecting HCV-RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fifty healthy Egyptian spouses of patients with chronic HCV-4 infection were included in this study. Real-time PCR was used to detect HCV-RNA in PBMCs in all the study subjects. The prevalence of occult HCV-4 infection was 4%, and a statistically significant higher prevalence was found among patients with a history of sexually transmitted infection. The results of the present study indicate the importance of intra-spousal transmission of HCV-4 infection, especially in subjects with a history of sexually transmitted infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Yahia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: El Shazly
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hemida
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rafik
authors.forename: Reham
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Al Swaff
authors.forename: Zainab A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Ali-Eldin
authors.forename: Shaimaa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: GadAllah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018454:Spouses
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: HCV; STD; intra-spousal transmission; occult