Back to Search
Start Over
Absence of hepatitis C viral RNA from saliva and semen of patients with chronic hepatitis C
- Source :
- Gastroenterology. 102:1306-1308
- Publication Year :
- 1992
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 1992.
-
Abstract
- Body fluids from 14 patients with chronic hepatitis C were analyzed for the presence of hepatitis C viral RNA using the polymerase chain reaction. Nucleic acids were extracted from serum, saliva, and semen in guanidinium thiocyanate, subjected to reverse transcription, and then amplified by a double polymerase chain reaction technique using "nested" primers from the highly conserved 5′ non-coding region of the hepatitis C virus genome. Hepatitis C viral RNA was found in the serum of all patients in titers ranging between 10 −1 and 10 −3 . The hepatitis C viral genome was not detected in any saliva or semen sample. These findings suggest that body fluids of patients with chronic hepatitis C are rarely, if ever, contaminated with the hepatitis C virus. This may help to explain the infrequent transmission of this disease by sexual or close physical contact.
Details
- ISSN :
- 00165085
- Volume :
- 102
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Gastroenterology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........3b219dcb0c53f7d10a8d8bc647d1c16d