Intrafamilial spread of hepatitis C virus

Abstract

We studied the prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) among 530 household contacts of 225 anti-HCV-positive subjects (index cases). Twenty-six (4.9%) relatives had anti-HCV, a proportion higher than that found among blood donors (175 of 22,435; 0.78%) (p less than 0.001). We did not find any differences regarding the type of relation with the index case (sexual or nonsexual). The prevalence of anti-HCV increased with the age of the relatives, with the contact time with the index case, and with the time of exposure to HCV. On the other hand, the anti-HCV was associated mainly with the existence of cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma in the patient. We concluded that intrafamilial transmission may be an important mechanism in the spread of HCV.

Hepatitis C risk factors in Iranian volunteer blood donors: A case–control study

“…Blood transfusion, 6–20 sexual promiscuity or prostitution, 8–10,15 , 16,21–26 and intravenous drug abuse 6–8,11 , 13 , 15–19,23 , 25–32 have repeatedly been found by studies worldwide to be independent risk factors of HCV infection, although some studies failed to prove this 30,33 , 34 . Other risk factors such as cocaine snorting, 8,21 ear piercing in men, 8,21 lower education level, 17,34 , 35 male gender, 14,16 tattooing, 8,9 , 12,14 , 15,30 , 32 hospitalization, 15 surgical procedures, 6 high‐risk job, 30,31 and non‐sexual contact with an anti‐HCV‐positive subject 36 are also identified as risk factors in some studies. Strong correlation between HCV infection and certain sexually transmitted diseases also supports the notion of sexual spread of the disease among heterosexuals as well as homosexuals 37 .…”

Interferon‐α for Viral Hepatitis

“…At the other end of the spectrum, 14.5% of 696 randomly sampled children in Cameroon were anti‐HCV seropositive (93). Household contacts of known HCV‐infected individuals have intermediate serovprevalence rates that increase with age of the contact, indicating that duration of contact is an important risk (94‐96). In children with clinically or biochemically detected non‐A, non‐B hepatitis, evidence for HCV infection has been found in a significant proportion, even among those who had no obvious exposure risk (97,98).…”

Management of Chronic Viral Hepatitis in Children

“…The prevalence of anti-HCV among healthy children appears to vary between 0% and 1.2% (50,51) . Horizontal spread of infection among healthy school children and intra- familial transmission of HCY from parents or siblings have been reported (52)(53)(54)(55)(56). In the U.S., highrisk groups appear to include children who are exposed to blood or blood products, namely those with hemophilia, thalassemia, cancer (particularly childhood leukemia), those on renal dialysis, and institutionalized patients (49,(57)(58)(59)(60).…”