Anti-hepatitis C virus screening will reduce the incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis C also in low-risk areas

The incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis non-A, non-B (PTH-NANB) was prospectively assessed in two areas in the southeast region of Sweden. Patients undergoing hip arthroplasty were studied with blood sampling for alanine aminotransferase analysis before and at 2, 3, and 4 months after transfusion. Of the patients 97% and 82% were transfused and received a mean of 5.5 and 3.4 units in Linkoping and Oskarshamn, respectively. None of 38 patients in Oskarshamn but 4 of 144 patients (2.8%) in Linkoping contracted PTH-NANB. Two of these four patients developed antibodies against hepatitis C virus (HCV) by the first-generation anti-HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (C100). The other two patients remained negative by this test. HCV infection was, however, indicated in all four patients by positive second-generation anti-HCV ELISA confirmed by positive second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (4-RIBA). Three of the patients were positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Serum from one blood donor to the four hepatitis patients (altogether three donors) was found positive by first- and second-generation anti-HCV ELISA and 4-RIBA and was also PCR-positive. Three other blood donors, who did not transmit hepatitis, were anti-HCV ELISA (C100)-positive. This study shows that if anti-HCV ELISA had been available at the start of the trial, all cases of PTH would have been avoided at the expense of only 0.7% transfusion units discarded. Routine anti-HCV ELISA testing of all transfusion units will reduce the incidence of PTH-C even in low-risk areas

Detection and prevention of hepatitis C in dialysis patients and renal transplant recipients. A long-term follow up (1989-january 1997)

Background. Hepatitis C is frequent problem in dialysis wards. Design. A long time (1989-97) follow up of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in a Swedish nephrology unit was performed with anti-HCV screening, confirmatory antibody tests, viral RNA detection and molecular characterization. Case histories were reviewed with focus, onset of infection, liver morbidity and mortality. Results. In October 1991, 10% (19 of 184) of the patients in the unit (haemodialysis-, peritoneal dialysis and transplanted patients) were verified or suspected HCV carriers. whilst the number at the end of 1996 was 8% (13 of 157). Most patients were infected before 1991 but only in one case from a known HCV-infected blood donor. No new HCV infections associated with haemodialvsis occurred during the study period. A total of 13 of 24 viremic patients had HCV genotype 2b, a pattern suggesting nosocomial transmission. This was further supported by phylogenetic analysis of HCV viral isolates in seven. HCV viremia was also common in patients with an incomplete anti-HCV antibody pattern as 8 of the 12 indeterminant sera were HCV-RNA positive. Conclusions. Awareness, prevention, identification of infected patients and donor testing limited transmission. Indeterminant recombinant immunoblot assays (RIBA)-results should be regarded with caution as a result of the relative immunodeficiency in uremic patients. Our data indicate nosocomial transmission in several patients