Detection of Hepatitis C Virus and Antibodies in Postmortem Blood and Bloodstains

Abstract

To evaluate the risk of accidental hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we examined whether anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA were detectable in HCV-infected blood samples from living donors, cadavers, and bloodstains. We showed that even after blood has left the body for several days, anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA may persist in it.At the scenes of crimes or accidents, bloody materials are often handled without adequate precautions against infection because most first responders are not medical specialists. This study's objective was to test whether or not such samples are no longer potentially infectious. We used hepatitis C virus (HCV) as the representative infectious agent. To simulate the types of exposures first responders might encounter, we tested whether HCV RNA and antibodies are detected in blood and bloodstains kept at room temperature for up to 60 days and from blood of actual postmortem cases up to 14 days after death.HCV-infected blood samples were obtained with informed consent from 12 patients (8 men and 4 women; mean age, 68.5 Ϯ 10.7 years; range, 44 to 84 years) at the University Hospital, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, and at Aiseikai Yamashina Hospital. Prior to our experiments, the serum titers of HCV RNA of all samples were determined, using the COBAS TaqMan HCV assay (Roche Molecular Systems, Pleasanton, CA), to range from 5.4 to 7.0 log IU/ml (average, 6.363 Ϯ 0.42 log IU/ml). All samples were stored at Ϫ80°C until use.Bloodstain samples were prepared by soaking cotton buds in 0.1 ml of HCV-infected whole-blood samples (n ϭ 8) for 1 min and then drying them at room temperature for up to 60 days. Samples of HCV-infected whole blood (n ϭ 4) were placed in sealed 2-ml test tubes and kept at room temperature for up to 60 days. The prepared blood and bloodstain samples were analyzed at 1, 3, 9, 27, and 60 days after preparation.The postmortem whole-blood samples were obtained between December 2008 and April 2010 from 10 forensic autopsies performed on individuals (7 men and 3 women; mean age, 52 Ϯ 13.15 years; range, 33 to 79 years) who had tested positive for anti-HCV antibodies. These blood samples were stored at Ϫ80°C for a week before use.Anti-HCV antibodies from the bloodstain and whole-blood samples were detected using immunochromatography with Or-

Detection of hepatitis B virus DNA and HBsAg from postmortem blood and bloodstains

“…In our previous study, as a representative harmful virus, we examined if hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be detected in blood or bloodstains that were stored at room temperature for up to 60 days [3]. HCV-RNA was found to be detectable from blood and bloodstains for up to 60 days.…”