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Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA among Anti‐HCV‐Positive Blood Donors and Their Recipients
Author(s) -
Skaug Kjell,
Li Huayi,
Jonassen Tom Ø,
Larsen Jonn,
Figenschau Karl J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/j.1423-0410.1993.tb03058.x
Subject(s) - hepatitis c virus , virology , medicine , antibody , flaviviridae , hepatitis c , hepacivirus , viral disease , blood transfusion , virus , immunology , serology
Seven of 24 blood donors positive in Ortho's first‐generation antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti‐HCV) test (EIA‐1) were also positive in Ortho's second‐generation test (EIA‐2). All 7 had at least two anti‐HCV positive recipients, whereas only 1 of the 17 EIA‐2‐negative donors had an anti‐HCV‐positive recipient. This recipient was a multitransfused patient with von Willebrand's disease. Five of the 7 EIA‐2‐positive donors had detectable HCV RNA. We traced and tested 38 of the still living blood recipients from the 7 EIA‐2‐positive donors. Twenty‐eight of these were EIA‐2 positive and 22 were HCV‐PCR positive. One patient with Waldenstroem's hypergammaglobulinemia was EIA‐2 negative but HCV‐PCR positive. All the EIA‐2‐positive sera showed reactivity in Ortho's recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA‐2), but 5 of the 28 recipients and 1 of the donors reacted with only one band (RIBA‐2 indeterminate). Among 32 recipients who probably had received EIA‐2‐positive blood, 29 (91%) had markers of an HCV infection. Twenty‐two (75%) of the HCV‐infected recipients had detectable HCV RNA more than 6 months after transfusion and hence were chronic HCV carriers.