Hepatitis C viremia patterns in incident hepatitis C infection and one year later in 150 prospectively tested persons who inject drugs.

Objectives: To assess HCV viremia levels just before, during and one year after anti-HCV seroconversion in people who inject drugs (PWID).

Methods: PWID enrolling into a needle exchange program in Malmö, Sweden, 1997-2005 constituted the source population. Sera were obtained at enrolment and at approximately 3-4 monthly intervals afterwards, and were initially tested for anti-HIV, HBsAg/anti-HBc and anti-HCV and thereafter for markers previously negative.

Minimal transmission of HIV despite persistently high transmission of hepatitis C virus in a Swedish needle exchange program.

The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and incidence of HIV and hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) among injecting drug users in a Swedish needle exchange programme (NEP) and to identify risk factors for blood-borne transmission. A series of serum samples from NEP participants enrolled from 1997 to 2005 were tested for markers of HIV, HBV and HCV (including retrospective testing for HCV RNA in the last anti-HCV-negative sample from each anti-HCV seroconverter). Prevalence and incidence were correlated with self-reported baseline characteristics.

Prospective study of nosocomial transmission of hepatitis C in a Swedish gastroenterology unit .

A prospective study of incident hepatitis C in 515 gastroenterology patients was conducted by follow-up sampling at 3-6 months after admission to the gastroenterology unit to test for antibodies to hepatitis C virus and for hepatitis C virus RNA. Universal precautions were implemented, and the use of multidose vials had been banned in this unit. Despite 5,964 exposure-days for several risk factors associated with nosocomial hepatitis C virus transmission, no incident case of hepatitis C occurred.

Enhanced and resumed GB virus C replication in HIV-1-infected individuals receiving HAART.

In patients co-infected with HIV-1 and GB virus C (GBV-C), the disappearance of GBV-C RNA has been associated with accelerated disease progression. We studied longitudinal GBV-C viral titres in 28 HIV-1/GVB-C co-infected individuals receiving HAART. During HAART, median GBV-C RNA titres increased from 95 to 6000 copies/ml (P < 0.

Genetic diversity in hepatitis C virus in Egypt and possible association with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Egypt has one of the world's highest prevalences of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with a majority of genotype 4 infections. To explore the genetic diversity of HCV in Egypt, sera from 131 Egyptians [56 from community studies, 37 chronic hepatitis patients, 28 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and 10 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma] were genotyped by restriction fragment-length polymorphism and phylogenetic analyses of sequences from the mid-core and non-structural 5B regions. The different genotyping methods showed good agreement.