Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Viral Load Tied to Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis C

High maternal viral load is associated with vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus, but polymorphisms in interleukin 28B are not, according to a study published online March 16 in Hepatology.
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MONDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- High maternal viral load is associated with vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV-VT), but polymorphisms in interleukin 28B (IL28B) are not, according to a study published online March 16 in Hepatology.

Ángeles Ruiz-Extremera, M.D., from San Cecilio University Hospital in Granada, Spain, and colleagues assessed the role of a single nucleotide polymorphism on IL28B in HCV-VT and the spontaneous clearance of HCV among infected infants. Mothers recruited for the study included 112 who were HCV-RNA positive/HIV negative and 33 HCV-RNA negative/HCV-antibody positive with 142 and 43 children, respectively. Children underwent testing for HCV-RNA at birth and regularly until the age of 6 years. Single nucleotide polymorphism at IL28B was determined in mothers and children. The occurrence of HCV-VT was assumed when children presented HCV-RNA positive in two subsequent blood samples.

The investigators found that 61 percent of the 31 mothers with the CC polymorphism and 82 percent of the 68 mothers with non-CC polymorphism were HCV-RNA positive. Among infants born to HCV-RNA positive mothers, 20 percent acquired HCV infection, but only 9 percent were chronically infected. No HCV-VT was seen in HCV-RNA negative women, and the rate was increased in mothers with higher HCV viremia. Neither maternal nor child IL28B status was correlated with increased risk of HCV-VT. Genotype non-1 and genotype CC of the IL28B were the factors influencing viral clearance among the infected children. Child CC polymorphism was the sole predictor of HCV clearance in HCV genotype-1.
"High maternal viral load is the only predictive factor of HCV-VT. IL28B plays no role in HCV-VT," the authors write.

Abstract
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