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Section 3. Summaries of Infectious Diseases
Hepatitis C
Clinical Manifestations
Etiology
Epidemiology
Diagnostic Tests
Treatment
Isolation of the Hospitalized Patient
Control Measures
CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS: Signs and symptoms of hepatitis C
virus (HCV) infection are indistinguishable from those of hepatitis
A or hepatitis B virus infections. Acute disease tends to be
mild and insidious in onset, and most infections are asymptomatic.
Jaundice occurs in <20% of patients, and abnormalities in
liver function tests generally are less pronounced than abnormalities
in patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Persistent infection
with HCV occurs in 50% to 60% of infected children, even in
the absence of biochemical evidence of liver disease. Most children
with chronic infection are asymptomatic. Although chronic hepatitis
develops in approximately 60% to 70% of infected adults, limited
data indicate that chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis are less
common in children. Infection with HCV is the leading reason
for liver transplantation among adults in the United States.
ETIOLOGY: Hepatitis C virus is a small, single-stranded RNA
virus and is a member of the Flavivirus family. Multiple HCV
genotypes and subtypes exist.
EPIDEMIOLOGY: The prevalence of HCV infection in the general
population of the United States is estimated at 1.8%. The seroprevalence
is 0.2% for children younger than 12 years of age and 0.4% for
adolescents 12 to 19 years of age. Seroprevalences vary among
populations according to their associated risk factors.
Infection is spread primarily by parenteral exposure to blood of HCV-infected people. The current risk of HCV infection after blood transfusion in the United States is estimated to be less than 1 in 1 million units transfused because of exclusion of high-risk donors and of HCV-positive units by antibody testing and screening of pools of blood units by some form of nucleic acid amplification (NAA) test (see Blood Safety, p 106. . . [Go to Full Text]
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This topic has been referenced by these articles:
- Daniel, A. R., Sheha, T.
(2005). Transmission of Hepatitis C Through Swapping Body Jewelry. Pediatrics
116: 1264-1265
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- Barnes, C., Wong, P., Egan, B., Speller, T., Cameron, F., Jones, G., Ekert, H., Monagle, P.
(2004). Reduced Bone Density Among Children With Severe Hemophilia. Pediatrics
114: e177-e181
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- Murray, K. F., Richardson, L. P., Morishima, C., Owens, J. W. M., Gretch, D. R.
(2003). Prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Risk Factors in an Incarcerated Juvenile Population: A Pilot Study. Pediatrics
111: 153-157
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- Stein, M. T., Crow, J., Abbott, M., Tanner, J. L.
(2004). Organic or Psychosomatic? Facilitating Inquiry With Children and Parents. Pediatrics
114: 1496-1500
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- Aach, R. D., Yomtovian, R. A., Hack, M.
(2000). Neonatal and Pediatric Posttransfusion Hepatitis C: A Look Back and a Look Forward. Pediatrics
105: 836-842
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- Yim, R., Wald, E. R.
(2005). Misinterpretation of Liver-Function Tests and West Nile Virus Infection in Children: In Reply. Pediatrics
115: 1445-1446
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- Lackner, H., Moser, A., Deutsch, J., Kessler, H. H., Benesch, M., Kerbl, R., Schwinger, W., Dornbusch, H.-J., Preisegger, K.-H., Urban, C.
(2000). Interferon-alpha and Ribavirin in Treating Children and Young Adults With Chronic Hepatitis C After Malignancy. Pediatrics
106: 53e-53
[Abstract]
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- Miller, L. C., Hendrie, N. W.
(2000). Health of Children Adopted From China. Pediatrics
105: 76e-76
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- Hoshiyama, A., Kimura, A., Fujisawa, T., Kage, M., Kato, H.
(2000). Clinical and Histologic Features of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection After Blood Transfusion in Japanese Children. Pediatrics
105: 62-65
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