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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3252-3255, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3252-3255.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Detection and Characterization of Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Seminal Plasma and Spermatozoon Fractions of Semen from Patients Attempting Medically Assisted Conception

Thomas Bourlet,1 Rachel Levy,2 Anne Maertens,1 Jean-Claude Tardy,3 Florence Grattard,1 Hélène Cordonier,4 Jean-Louis Laurent,2 Jean-François Guerin,4 and Bruno Pozzetto1*

Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie, GIMAP, Faculty of Medicine of Saint-Etienne,1 Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne,2 Laboratoire de Virologie ,3 Laboratoire de Biologie de la Reproduction, Hôpital Edouard Herriot de Lyon, Lyon, France4

Received 9 January 2002/ Returned for modification 5 May 2002/ Accepted 14 June 2002

To investigate the risk of transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) via semen in assisted reproduction techniques, semen samples from 32 men chronically infected with HCV attending a center for assisted procreation were tested for HCV RNA by a reverse transcription-PCR protocol by using a modified version of the Cobas AMPLICOR HCV assay (version 2.0; Roche Diagnostics). The sensitivity of the test was 40 copies/ml. Four of 32 seminal plasma samples (12.5%) were found to be positive for the presence of HCV RNA. The median HCV load in blood was significantly higher in patients who were found to be positive for the presence of HCV RNA in semen than in those who tested negative (P = 0.02). In one man, seven consecutive seminal plasma samples tested positive for HCV RNA, as did two consecutive motile spermatozoon fractions; the corresponding fractions obtained after migration of the spermatozoa remained negative. Despite the absence of the proven infectivity of virus in semen samples that test positive for HCV RNA, these findings highlight the fact that seminal fluid may exhibit prolonged HCV RNA excretion. The usefulness of HCV RNA detection in both seminal plasma and spermatozoon fractions before the start of a program of medically assisted reproduction in couples in whom the male partner is chronically infected with HCV would need to be evaluated prospectively with a larger population of subjects exhibiting HCV RNA in their semen.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie, Hôpital Nord, CHU de Saint-Etienne, 42055 Saint-Etienne Cedex 02, France. Phone: 00 33 4 77 82 83 15. Fax: 00 33 4 77 82 84 60. E-mail: Bruno.Pozzetto{at}univ-st-etienne.fr.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, September 2002, p. 3252-3255, Vol. 40, No. 9
0095-1137/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.9.3252-3255.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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