Acute hepatitis C virus infection: a neglected disease?

[...]there remains a possibility that the sex difference in clearance is secondary to differences in age at, and route of, acquisition of infection, although as the authors point out, there are no convincing published data that either of these parameters do influence clearance rates. Window period d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gut 2006-08, Vol.55 (8), p.1075-1077
Main Author: Irving, W L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquisitions & mergers
Acute Disease
Age
Alcohol
Epidemiology
Female
Hepacivirus - isolation & purification
Hepatitis
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C - diagnosis
Hepatitis C - epidemiology
Hepatitis C - transmission
Hepatitis C virus
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infections
Interferon
Liver diseases
Male
Males
natural history
Risk exposure
RNA, Viral - blood
Sex Factors
spontaneous clearance
Studies
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Summary:[...]there remains a possibility that the sex difference in clearance is secondary to differences in age at, and route of, acquisition of infection, although as the authors point out, there are no convincing published data that either of these parameters do influence clearance rates. Window period diagnosis, evident as the presence of HCV RNA (or antigen) in a serum lacking anti-HCV, is also strongly suggestive of recent infection, 4 but even here, there are doubts, with reports of some individuals maintaining this reactivity profile for months or even years before seroconverting. 5 Even symptomatic patients with acute hepatitis present a diagnostic dilemma.\n Kamal et al demonstrated precisely this pattern of response in six of eight sexual contacts of patients with acute HCV infection. 1 Al-Sherbiny et al similarly demonstrated cell mediated immune responses in 13 of 71 (18%) seronegative and non-viraemic individuals with high risk exposure to HCV residing in a rural Egyptian community, compared with only one of 35 (3%) individuals with low risk exposure. 14 These observations, similar to those made in the context of HIV infection, challenge our understanding and definitions of acute infection.
ISSN:0017-5749
1468-3288
DOI:10.1136/gut.2005.085407