Detection of seronegative occult hepatitis C infection in blood donors and hospital patients from Argentina.

IF 2 4区医学 Q3 GENETICS & HEREDITY

Virus Genes Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-26 DOI:10.1007/s11262-026-02223-0

Yamila Martín, Kelly Alejandra Ramírez Ladino, Guido López, Estela Outon, Cecilia María Delfino

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: OCI is defined as the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in hepatocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the absence of HCV RNA in serum. Two types of OCI are distinguished based on the presence or absence of anti-HCV antibodies: seropositive and seronegative.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of seronegative OCI and identify its genotypes in blood donors (BDs) and hospital patients (HPs) from Argentina.

Methodology: Peripheral blood and serum samples were collected from a total of 177 BDs and HPs. All individuals were non-reactive for HCV markers. The samples were analyzed by RT-nested-PCR. In addition, RT-qPCR was performed only on the serum samples. Other serological tests were conducted in all serum samples, and biochemical markers were realized only in Oci-positive serum samples.

Results: Fifteen samples were OCI-positive by RT-qPCR in PBMCs, with an overall prevalence of 8.5%; it was 3.0% BDs and 11.7% HPs, respectively. Genotypes 2 and 3 were identified in all OCI sequences. None of the serum samples were RNA HCV positive. Moreover, two of the total OCI positive were HIV positive, and one had elevated liver enzyme levels.

Conclusion: This study is being conducted for the first time in Argentina and sets a precedent regarding the presence of seronegative for OCI in these populations. Further research is needed in different populations and with a larger number of samples to understand the true prevalence of OCI in the country.

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阿根廷献血者和医院患者血清阴性隐性丙型肝炎感染的检测

简介：OCI的定义是肝细胞或外周血单核细胞（pbmc）中存在丙型肝炎病毒（HCV） RNA，而血清中不存在HCV RNA。根据是否存在抗hcv抗体来区分两种类型的OCI：血清阳性和血清阴性。目的：本研究旨在确定阿根廷献血者（bd）和住院患者（hp）血清阴性OCI的患病率并确定其基因型。方法：采集177例bd和hp患者的外周血和血清样本。所有个体对HCV标志物均无反应。采用RT-nested-PCR对样品进行分析。此外，RT-qPCR仅对血清样本进行检测。所有血清样本均进行其他血清学检测，仅在oci阳性血清样本中进行生化标记。结果：15例PBMCs中oci阳性，总患病率8.5%；bd和hp分别为3.0%和11.7%。在所有OCI序列中均鉴定出基因2型和3型。所有血清样本均无RNA HCV阳性。此外，总OCI阳性患者中有2人是HIV阳性，1人肝酶水平升高。结论：本研究首次在阿根廷进行，并为这些人群中OCI血清阴性的存在开创了先例。需要对不同人群和更多样本进行进一步研究，以了解该国OCI的真实流行情况。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Virus Genes 医学-病毒学

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Viruses are convenient models for the elucidation of life processes. The study of viruses is again on the cutting edge of biological sciences: systems biology, genomics, proteomics, metagenomics, using the newest most powerful tools. Huge amounts of new details on virus interactions with the cell, other pathogens and the hosts – animal (including human), insect, fungal, plant, bacterial, and archaeal - and their role in infection and disease are forthcoming in perplexing details requiring analysis and comments. Virus Genes is dedicated to the publication of studies on the structure and function of viruses and their genes, the molecular and systems interactions with the host and all applications derived thereof, providing a forum for the analysis of data and discussion of its implications, and the development of new hypotheses.