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HCV Infection in Egyptian Patients with Acute Hepatitis

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Abstract

The diagnostics of community-acquired acute HCVhepatitis in an endemic area was studied in 110 Egyptianpatients with acute jaundice. In the first week of thejaundiced period 30 of 110 patients (27.3%) had anti-HCVantibodies. The majority already showed high levels ofanti-HCV IgG (25/30), associated with anti-HCV IgM innine of them. Five patients showed only an HCV IgMreactivity. Seven had also anti-HEV and/or anti-HBV: their jaundice couldthen be related to an acute infection caused by thoseviruses. All patients were infected with genotype 4a, inthree associated with the 3a. During the follow-up five patients seroconverted for IgG, whiletheir anti-HCV IgM did not show a uniform pattern ofreactivity. Patients with positive serology suspected ofan acute HCV infection were older than the patients with other acute hepatitis and showed a lowerpeak of ALT level. Seroconversion during acute hepatitisstrongly indicated HCV as the etiologic agent. However,the detection of anti-HCV IgG antibodies in the jaundiced period showed that the majorityof patients had already seroconverted to anti-HCVantibodies; in most of them it is possible tohypothesize a reactivation of a chronic HCVinfection.

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Authors
  1. Isabella Quinti
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  2. Diaa El Salman
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  3. Mohamed K. Monier
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  4. Barbara G. Hackbart
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  5. Magdi S. Darwish
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  6. Dina El-Zamiaty
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  7. Roberto Paganelli
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  8. F. Pandolfi
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  9. Ray R. Arthur
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Quinti, I., Salman, D.E., Monier, M.K. et al. HCV Infection in Egyptian Patients with Acute Hepatitis. Dig Dis Sci 42, 2017–2023 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018897813268

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