This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Other Versions of this Article: JCM.00345-08v1 46/6/2106    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Google Scholar Articles by Halfon, P. Articles by Cacoub, P. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Halfon, P. Articles by Cacoub, P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2008, p. 2106-2108, Vol. 46, No. 6
0095-1137/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00345-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Occult Hepatitis C Virus Infection Revisited with Ultrasensitive Real-Time PCR Assay

Laboratoire Alphabio, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, Marseille, France,¹ Département d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, Hôpital Saint-Joseph, Marseille, France,² Département d'Hépato-Gastroentérologie, Institut Arnault Tzanck, Saint-Laurent du Var, France,³ Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, CNRS, UMR 7087-AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Service de Médecine Interne, Paris, France,⁴ Département Biostatistiques, CDL Pharma, Marseille, France⁵

Received 19 February 2008/ Returned for modification 2 April 2008/ Accepted 18 April 2008

Occult hepatitis C infection is regarded as a new entity that should be considered when diagnosing patients with a liver disease of unknown origin. Using an ultrasensitive real-time PCR assay, we demonstrated that occult hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection cannot be found in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with cryptogenic liver diseases, HCV-associated systemic vasculitis, or connective tissue diseases. The significance of such occult infection must be elucidated.

Published ahead of print on 30 April 2008.