Hepatitis C in children
作者:
Pier-Angelo Tovo,
Marie-Louise Newell,
期刊:
Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases
(OVID Available online 1999)
卷期:
Volume 12,
issue 3
页码: 245-250
ISSN:0951-7375
年代: 1999
出版商: OVID
数据来源: OVID
摘要:
Mother-to-child, or vertical transmission, of hepatitis C virus is now the dominant mode of acquisition of infection for children. The rate of transmission is low in women who are not also HIV-positive. Whether the mode of delivery is associated with transmission remains questionable; breast-feeding does not appear to be a source of infection. The detection of hepatitis C virus RNA using the polymerase chain reaction is a sensitive method for the early diagnosis of infection in perinatally exposed infants, but false positive results can occur. The natural history of hepatitis C virus infection in children is not well defined, but chronic infection is common in most cases. The disease progression is slower than in adults. Therapeutic trials (not placebo controlled) in a small number of children suggested a sustained response to interferon treatment in only a minority of cases. The option of combination therapy with ribavirin looks promising and needs evaluation.
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