Serological and virological characteristics of subjects with occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

*<p>AST and ALT values at recruitment; −/−: normal values of AST: below 40 IU/L and 32 IU/L for men and women respectively, and ALT: below 50 IU/L and 35 IU/L for men and women respectively. +/+ altered levels of AST and ALT.</p>**<p>GGT and ALP values; −/−: normal values of GTT: below 50 IU/L and 35 IU/L for men and women respectively, and ALP: below 128 IU/L and 141 IU/L for men and women respectively.</p>***<p>Liver functional tests: total plasma protein, albumin, cholesterol, total and fractionated bilirubin, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, and international normalised ratio.</p>§<p>PBMCs viral load on baseline sample.</p><p>Abbreviations: SE, secondary erythrocytosis; PV, polycythemia vera; HBV, hepatitis B virus; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; GGT, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase; ALP, alkaline phosphatase, n.d., not determined because the amplification resulted in a very weak fragment and sequence analysis did not succeed; PBMCs, peripheral blood mononuclear cells.</p

Timing of blood sampling and HCV-RNA results on PBMCs during follow-up of OCI subjects.

<p>NOTE: Normal characters indicate baseline samples. Italics indicates follow-up samples.</p><p>Abbreviations: N, negative result.</p

Flow chart of distribution of subjects enrolled in the study based on presence of serological markers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV).

<p>Subjects positive for HBsAg and/or HBV-DNA were considered carriers of HBV. Subjects positive for anti-HCV and HCV-RNA or anti-HCV positive confirmed by the RIBA assay even though negative for HCV-RNA were considered HCV infection. Subjects HBsAg negative, anti-HBc positive with or without anti-HBs and HBV-DNA negative with normal alanine aminotransferase levels were considered previously HBV infected and naturally immunized. Abbreviations: anti-HIV, HIV antibodies; anti-HCV, antibodies against HCV; HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; anti-HBc, hepatitis B core antibodies; pos, positive; neg, negative.</p

HCV-RNA detection in plasma and PBMCs.

<p>Abbreviations: HCV, hepatitis C virus; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cells; HBV, hepatitis B virus.</p