Hh. Lin et al., POSSIBLE ROLE OF HIGH-TITER MATERNAL VIREMIA IN PERINATAL TRANSMISSION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS, The Journal of infectious diseases, 169(3), 1994, pp. 638-641
To study perinatal transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV), 15 anti-HC
V-positive carrier mothers without human immunodeficiency virus coinfe
ction were recruited. At delivery, maternal blood was taken and anti-H
CV titer was determined and HCV RNA measured in each serum sample by r
everse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A competitive PC
R was used in selected samples to quantitate HCV concentration. The 15
neonates were followed regularly for 1 year and their sera were also
assayed for anti-HCV and for HCV RNA by reverse transcription PCR. All
the mothers were positive for HCV RNA. Only one normal spontaneously
delivered neonate of a mother with extremely high titer of anti-HCV (1
:20,000) and HCV concentration (10(10) copies/mL) had both anti-HCV an
d HCV RNA in serum for up to 6 months of age. In contrast, none of the
remaining 14 neonates born to mothers with low- to high-titer anti-HC
V (1:4-1:1000) and moderate amounts of HCV RNA (10(5)-10(6) copies/mL)
contracted HCV infection. The results imply that high-titer maternal
viremia and normal spontaneous delivery may allow more HCV to infect t
he neonate intrapartum, therefore establishing perinatal transmission.