Association of hepatitis C virus & hepatitis B virus in chronic liver disease

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a cause of chronic liver disease (CLD) was asses sed by testing anti-HCV antibodies in the serum samples of 55 patients of c hronic hepatitis (17), cirrhosis (32) and hepatocellular carcinoma (6), All the samples were also tested for the presence of HCV RNA by reverse transc ription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using primers from the 5' non-co ding region (NCR) and the relationship between the serological parameters a nd presence of HCV RNA was studied. The association of hepatitis B virus (H BV) with HCV in this group was evaluated by testing for the anti HBc antibo dies (IgG and IgM separately) and HBsAg. The biochemical parameters and inv olvement of other risk factors were also studied. Twenty two (40%) patients were found to be HCV positive and 17 (77.3%) of these had evidence of infe ction or past exposure to HBV. On comparing the sensitivities of ELISA with that of PCR for the detection of HCV, we observed no significant differenc e between the two methods (P > 0.05, Mc Nemar's test). Eighteen patients ha d no evidence of REV or HCV infection. Our results indicate that HCV is nex t only to HBV in the causation of CLD. It is suggested that RT-PCR be used with antibody detection by ELISA for reliable detection of HCV infection.