TY - JOUR
T1 - Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis C virus detected by nested polymerase chain reaction
AU - Novati, Roberto
AU - Thiers, Valerie
AU - Monforte, Antonella D Arminio
AU - Maisonneuve, Pascale
AU - Principi, Nicola
AU - Conti, Mario
AU - Lazzarin, Adriano
AU - Brechot, Christian
PY - 1992/4
Y1 - 1992/4
N2 - Serum samples from eight pregnant women and their offspring were studied by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA to evaluate mother-to-child transmission of this virus. The mothers were all infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); none showed symptoms of HCV infection. Anti-HCV antibodies were tested for by recombinant immunoblot assay. HCV viral sequences were found in five of the mothers and four of eight children, three of them at birth. Viremia was persistent in one infant who had chronic transaminase elevation and persistently remained anti-HCV-positive. The other three babies had intermittent viremia; all were asymptomatic and lost anti-HCV antibodies during follow-up. This loss of antibodies was also observed in PCR-negative infants. Thus, these results demonstrate transmission of HCV from mother to child by women coinfected with HCV and HIV. They indicate the usefulness of PCR for direct and early detection of HCV viremia in neonates.
AB - Serum samples from eight pregnant women and their offspring were studied by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA to evaluate mother-to-child transmission of this virus. The mothers were all infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); none showed symptoms of HCV infection. Anti-HCV antibodies were tested for by recombinant immunoblot assay. HCV viral sequences were found in five of the mothers and four of eight children, three of them at birth. Viremia was persistent in one infant who had chronic transaminase elevation and persistently remained anti-HCV-positive. The other three babies had intermittent viremia; all were asymptomatic and lost anti-HCV antibodies during follow-up. This loss of antibodies was also observed in PCR-negative infants. Thus, these results demonstrate transmission of HCV from mother to child by women coinfected with HCV and HIV. They indicate the usefulness of PCR for direct and early detection of HCV viremia in neonates.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 1313070
AN - SCOPUS:0026752126
VL - 165
SP - 720
EP - 723
JO - Journal of Infectious Diseases
JF - Journal of Infectious Diseases
SN - 0022-1899
IS - 4
ER -