Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is highly prevalent in the chronic renal failure population treated in dialysis units. Transmission of HCV via blood transfusions is becoming an increasing problem, but, nevertheless, the routes by which this transmission occurs are incompletely known. We have searched for the presence of HCV RNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in serum and dialysis ultrafiltrate in 12 hemodialysis and 5 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, all of whom were HCV-antibody-positive. Serum PCR were positive for HCV RNA in all the cases, whereas PCR performed on samples of hemodialysis ultrafiltrate or peritoneal effluent were always negative for HCV RNA. In addition, 13 patients tested positive for HCV antibodies and 19 out of 32 patients sharing the dialysis monitors with 17 PCR-positive individuals remained negative. From these findings, we conclude that the dialysis ultrafiltrate or peritoneal fluid seems to be an improbable source of HCV dissemination in the dialysis setting. Moreover, a significant group of patients remained HCV-anti-body-negative although they shared the same dialysis machine with positive patients. Therefore, the importance of other sources of HCV transmission, namely blood-contaminated material, should be emphasized.