Author/Editor		Seme, Katja
Title		Virus hepatitisa C pri bolnikih z velikim tveganjem okužbe
Type		monografija
Place		Ljubljana
Publisher		Medicinska fakulteta
Publication year		1995
Volume		str. 89
Language		slo
Abstract		Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the primary etiologic agent of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis. Diagnosis of HCV infection relies primarily on detecting antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) in patients sera by screening enzyme immunoassays and onfirmatory immunoblot assays. Since the first generation of these serological tests became available, their sensitivity and specificity have been increased by the successive addition of new antigens. Tne only method which can at present provide direct evidence for HCV viremia is reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which allows detection of viral genome sequences. A third generation screening (Ortho HCV 3.0 ELISA) and immunoblot assays (Wellcozyme HCV Western Blot, LiaTek HCV III and Chiron RIBA HCV 3.0) were evaluated in comparison with the second generation assays (UBI HCV EIA and Chiron RIBA HCV 2.0). The third generation screening enzyme immunoassay was found more specific than the second generation test. The present study indicated that RIBA HCV 3.0 and LiaTek HCV III seem to be comparatively more sensitive and specific than the other two examined immunoblot tests. Due to shorter test procedure RIBA HCV 3.0 was chosen for routine work in our laboratory. Firstly, in-house nested RT-PCR was introduced in our laboratory as the method to prove HCV infection directly. Later on, a standardised commercially available RT-PCR kit for detection of hepatitis C virus RNA (Amplicor HCV Test) was compared with our in-house nested RT-PCR. It was concluded that the commercial HCV test had comparable sensitivity and specificity as our in-house nested RT-PCR. However, the commercial HCV test is more rapid and easier to perform than nested RT-PCR and thus more appropriate for use in a routine work. Using the chosen serological and molecular diagnostic tests the prevalence of HCV infection among high risk patients in Slovenia was studied. (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters).
Descriptors		HEPATITIS C HEMODIALYSIS SUBSTANCE ABUSE, INTRAVENOUS IMMUNOENZYME TECHNIQUES IMMUNOBLOTTING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION