Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1991 Mar;29(3):551–556. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.3.551-556.1991

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in U.S. blood donors.

G J Dawson 1, R R Lesniewski 1, J L Stewart 1, K M Boardway 1, R A Gutierrez 1, L Pendy 1, R G Johnson 1, X Alcalde 1, K V Rote 1, S G Devare 1, et al.
PMCID: PMC269816  PMID: 1709949

Abstract

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) which utilizes a solid phase coated with a recombinant antigen (c100-3) derived from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome was evaluated for efficacy in the detection of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV). The sensitivity of the antibody test was demonstrated by the detection of anti-HCV in a well-characterized panel of human specimens known to contain the infectious agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis. The specificity of the anti-HCV test was evaluated by testing 6,118 serum specimens from volunteer blood donors considered to be at low risk for exposure to HCV. The specificity of the anti-HCV EIA was demonstrated to be 99.56%, since 6,069 of 6,096 specimens from this low-risk group were nonreactive. A total of 49 (0.80%) of the 6,118 specimens were repeatedly reactive in the test, and 22 (46.81%) of the 47 specimens available for additional testing were confirmed as positive for antibodies to HCV c100-3. Among commercial plasma donors, 390 (10.49%) of 3,718 specimens were repeatedly reactive in the EIA. A total of 375 (97.40%) of the 385 specimens available for further testing were confirmed as positive. These limited data indicate that the prevalence of antibodies to HCV is 0.36% (22 confirmed positives among 6,118 specimens) among volunteer blood donors and 10.08% (375 confirmed positives among 3,718 specimens) among commercial plasma donors. The importance of confirmatory testing is discussed.

Full text

PDF
556

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aach R. D., Szmuness W., Mosley J. W., Hollinger F. B., Kahn R. A., Stevens C. E., Edwards V. M., Werch J. Serum alanine aminotransferase of donors in relation to the risk of non-A,non-B hepatitis in recipients: the transfusion-transmitted viruses study. N Engl J Med. 1981 Apr 23;304(17):989–994. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198104233041701. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alter H. J., Holland P. V., Purcell R. H., Lander J. J., Feinstone S. M., Morrow A. G., Schmidt P. J. Posttransfusion hepatitis after exclusion of commercial and hepatitis-B antigen-positive donors. Ann Intern Med. 1972 Nov;77(5):691–699. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-77-5-691. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Alter H. J., Purcell R. H., Shih J. W., Melpolder J. C., Houghton M., Choo Q. L., Kuo G. Detection of antibody to hepatitis C virus in prospectively followed transfusion recipients with acute and chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis. N Engl J Med. 1989 Nov 30;321(22):1494–1500. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198911303212202. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Choo Q. L., Kuo G., Weiner A. J., Overby L. R., Bradley D. W., Houghton M. Isolation of a cDNA clone derived from a blood-borne non-A, non-B viral hepatitis genome. Science. 1989 Apr 21;244(4902):359–362. doi: 10.1126/science.2523562. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dienstag J. L. Non-A, non-B hepatitis. I. Recognition, epidemiology, and clinical features. Gastroenterology. 1983 Aug;85(2):439–462. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Janot C., Couroucé A. M., Maniez M. Antibodies to hepatitis C virus in French blood donors. Lancet. 1989 Sep 30;2(8666):796–797. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)90851-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Koziol D. E., Holland P. V., Alling D. W., Melpolder J. C., Solomon R. E., Purcell R. H., Hudson L. M., Shoup F. J., Krakauer H., Alter H. J. Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen as a paradoxical marker for non-A, non-B hepatitis agents in donated blood. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Apr;104(4):488–495. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-104-4-488. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kuo G., Choo Q. L., Alter H. J., Gitnick G. L., Redeker A. G., Purcell R. H., Miyamura T., Dienstag J. L., Alter M. J., Stevens C. E. An assay for circulating antibodies to a major etiologic virus of human non-A, non-B hepatitis. Science. 1989 Apr 21;244(4902):362–364. doi: 10.1126/science.2496467. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kühnl P., Seidl S., Stangel W., Beyer J., Sibrowski W., Flik J. Antibody to hepatitis C virus in German blood donors. Lancet. 1989 Aug 5;2(8658):324–324. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)90500-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Sirchia G., Bellobuono A., Giovanetti A., Marconi M. Antibodies to hepatitis C virus in Italian blood donors. Lancet. 1989 Sep 30;2(8666):797–797. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)90852-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stevens C. E., Aach R. D., Hollinger F. B., Mosley J. W., Szmuness W., Kahn R., Werch J., Edwards V. Hepatitis B virus antibody in blood donors and the occurrence of non-A, non-B hepatitis in transfusion recipients. An analysis of the Transfusion-Transmitted Viruses Study. Ann Intern Med. 1984 Dec;101(6):733–738. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-101-6-733. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Stevens C. E., Taylor P. E., Pindyck J., Choo Q. L., Bradley D. W., Kuo G., Houghton M. Epidemiology of hepatitis C virus. A preliminary study in volunteer blood donors. JAMA. 1990 Jan 5;263(1):49–53. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Tabor E., Seeff L. B., Gerety R. J. Chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis carrier state: transmissible agent documented in one patient over a six-year period. N Engl J Med. 1980 Jul 17;303(3):140–143. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198007173030307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. van der Poel C. L., Reesink H. W., Lelie P. N., Leentvaar-Kuypers A., Choo Q. L., Kuo G., Houghton M. Anti-hepatitis C antibodies and non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis in The Netherlands. Lancet. 1989 Aug 5;2(8658):297–298. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(89)90486-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. van der Poel C. L., Reesink H. W., Schaasberg W., Leentvaar-Kuypers A., Bakker E., Exel-Oehlers P. J., Lelie P. N. Infectivity of blood seropositive for hepatitis C virus antibodies. Lancet. 1990 Mar 10;335(8689):558–560. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)90347-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES