EFFECTIVE DETECTION OF ACTIVE HCV INFECTION - HCV RNA CARRIER STATE IN A CONTEXT-FREE OF HEPATITIS SYMPTOMS

HCV immunological assays have limited specificity due to considerable variability of genomic coding sequences. Accordingly, PCR RNA detectio n also shows variable incidence of HCV in a non-A, non-B (NANB) hepati tis context. We used in-house designed nested PCR applying primers fro m the 5' untranslated region in 150 thalassemic patients classified in four groups according to anti-HCV screening and glutamic-pyruvate tra nsaminase (GPT) levels. Group A: anti-HCV+/high GPT levels; group B: a nti-HCV+/normal GPT levels; group C: anti-HCV-/high GPT levels; group D: anti-HCV-/normal GPT levels. Viral incidence and concentration, bot h high in group A, decreased towards group D. Group C RNA incidence wa s unexpectedly high and, moreover, one control case proved HCV-RNA(+). Compared with the Amplicor kit our primers were considerably more sen sitive. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.