Vertical transmission of the hepatitis C virus: Current knowledge and issues.

Soon after the discovery of HCV in 1989, both serological tests for antibody detection and a genomic amplification method (reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction) for HCV RNA detection were developed. With these tools in hand, investigators began studying the epidemiology, pathogenesis and natural history of HCV infection. Investigators were quick to observe that HCV infections had features similar to those of other blood-borne infections, and early on raised the possibility of vertical transmission of HCV, a well-established characteristic of both hepatitis B virus and HIV. Studies have since shown that HCV is transmissible from the infected mother to her offspring, which raises a number of issues that will be dealt with in the present statement. It replaces the previous position statement published in 1997 [2].