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Intrafamilial transmission of hepatitis C virus
Author(s) -
Indolfi Giuseppe,
Nesi Alessandro,
Resti Massimo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.23522
Subject(s) - transmission (telecommunications) , horizontal transmission , virology , epidemiology , hepatitis c virus , biology , cluster (spacecraft) , virus , medicine , pathology , telecommunications , computer science , programming language
HCV infection is a major public health problem worldwide. Several studies reported that HCV infection might cluster in families or households. Horizontal intrafamilial transmission of the virus has been demonstrated previously. Whether horizontal transmission makes any significant contribution to the global burden of HCV infection is still controversial and data about epidemiology and routes of transmission are uncertain. The certain diagnosis of horizontal intrafamilial transmission of HCV is based on the simultaneous presence of specific laboratory criteria, the temporal association between intrafamilial exposure and infection and the exclusion of all the potential extrafamilial routes of transmission of the infection. This review summarizes the current knowledge of epidemiology, risk factors and molecular biology of horizontal intrafamilial transmission of HCV infection. J. Med. Virol. 85:608–614, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.