SURREPTITIOUS HEPATITIS-C VIRUS (HCV) INFECTION DETECTED IN THE MAJORITY OF PATIENTS WITH CRYPTOGENIC CHRONIC HEPATITIS AND NEGATIVE HCV ANTIBODY TESTS

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to identify h epatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in peripheral whole blood (WE) and plasma s amples from 15 patients with chronic, unexplained hepatitis. These pat ients were serologically negative for hepatitis A, B, and C and were c lassified as having chronic non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis (NANBNC), HC V RNA was repeatedly detected in WB samples from 10 (67%), In contrast , plasma samples from only 5 were intermittently positive, Statistical ly, HCV RNA detection in WB was significantly more sensitive than in p lasma, Nucleic acid hybridization and HCV genotypic analysis confirmed the specificity of the HCV RNA assay, Liver biopsies from these patie nts suggested histopathologic differences between HCV RNA-positive and -negative groups, These data demonstrate that HCV infection is presen t in patients with unexplained chronic hepatitis more frequently than previously believed. Additionally, WB HCV RNA detection is more sensit ive than plasma assays in identifying antibody-negative HCV infection.