PATTERNS AND PREVALENCE OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION IN POSTTRANSFUSION NON-A, NON-B-HEPATITIS

Improved serologic and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection provided an opportunity to reexamin e a posttransfusion follow-up study done from 1969 to 1972. A total of 213 cardiac surgery patients was prospectively followed after receivi ng an average of 18 units of blood, 24% of which was from paid donors. Serial sera were tested for antibody to recombinant DNA-derived C 100 -3 and capsid polypeptides; selected cases were also tested against sy nthetic peptides derived from different regions of the HCV sequence. P CR and RIBA II immunoblot assays were done on selected sera. Each of 5 5 probable and 5 of 11 possible hepatitis cases who were seronegative before transfusion seroconverted. Anti-HCV seroconversion also occurre d in 6 (4%) of 148 subjects without hepatitis. Among subjects followed > 1 year. PCR positivity persisted in 14 (82%) of 17. If the results of this study can be generalized, all bloodborne non-A, non-B hepatiti s may be due to HCV.