Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1991 Mar;29(3):551-6.
doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.3.551-556.1991.

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in U.S. blood donors

G J Dawson  1 , R R Lesniewski, J L Stewart, K M Boardway, R A Gutierrez, L Pendy, R G Johnson, X Alcalde, K V Rote, S G Devare, et al.
Affiliations

Detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in U.S. blood donors

G J Dawson et al. J Clin Microbiol. 1991 Mar.

Abstract

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) which utilizes a solid phase coated with a recombinant antigen (c100-3) derived from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome was evaluated for efficacy in the detection of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV). The sensitivity of the antibody test was demonstrated by the detection of anti-HCV in a well-characterized panel of human specimens known to contain the infectious agent of non-A, non-B hepatitis. The specificity of the anti-HCV test was evaluated by testing 6,118 serum specimens from volunteer blood donors considered to be at low risk for exposure to HCV. The specificity of the anti-HCV EIA was demonstrated to be 99.56%, since 6,069 of 6,096 specimens from this low-risk group were nonreactive. A total of 49 (0.80%) of the 6,118 specimens were repeatedly reactive in the test, and 22 (46.81%) of the 47 specimens available for additional testing were confirmed as positive for antibodies to HCV c100-3. Among commercial plasma donors, 390 (10.49%) of 3,718 specimens were repeatedly reactive in the EIA. A total of 375 (97.40%) of the 385 specimens available for further testing were confirmed as positive. These limited data indicate that the prevalence of antibodies to HCV is 0.36% (22 confirmed positives among 6,118 specimens) among volunteer blood donors and 10.08% (375 confirmed positives among 3,718 specimens) among commercial plasma donors. The importance of confirmatory testing is discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. N Engl J Med. 1989 Nov 30;321(22):1494-500 - PubMed
    1. Ann Intern Med. 1972 Nov;77(5):691-9 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1989 Apr 21;244(4902):359-62 - PubMed
    1. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Apr;104(4):488-95 - PubMed
    1. Lancet. 1989 Sep 30;2(8666):797 - PubMed