HEPATITIS C VIRUS

Structure & Property	Transmission	Pathogenesis	Clinical findings	Laboratory diagnosis	Treatment	
Family: flavivirus

Genome: single-strand RNA, +ve polarity.

Icosahedral nucleocapsid

Enveloped virion

No polymerase

Multiple serotypes	Sexual contact

Blood

Perinatally from mother to child	Infects hepatocytes primarily.

For patients who clear infection, not known whether reinfection can occur or if there is lifelong immunity.	Incubation period: 8 weeks.

Many infections are asymptomatic and detected only by presence of antibody.

Acute infection is milder disease than Hepatitis B.

Chronic hepatitis follows acute infection in 60% of patients, 20% go on to develop cirrhosis.

Chronic hepatitis C is now recognized as an important cause of primary liver cancer.	Diagnosis: detection of antibodies to HCV in an ELISA.

Direct demonstration: PCR on blood samples detects viral RNA and indicates infectivity.

Cell cannot be cultivated in cell culture.	Interferon-alpha used in treatment of chronic hepatitis C; it mitigates symptoms but does not eliminate carrier state.

Screening of blood for transfusion for presence of HCV antibody.