Transmission of hepatitis C virus infection associated with home infusion therapy for hemophilia.

Transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and other bloodborne viruses between household members who are not sex partners presumably results from inapparent percutaneous or permucosal exposures, such as sharing articles that may be contaminated with microscopic quantities of blood. The risk for nonsexual household transmission is extremely low, and no cases of such transmission have been documented; direct percutaneous exposures (e.g., injecting drugs) have been identified as the major risk factor for infection. This report summarizes the investigation of a newly acquired case of HCV infection in a child with hemophilia, after a preliminary investigation identified several household members with HCV infection. The findings suggest the child acquired infection through percutaneous exposure to the mother's HCV-infected blood during infusion of clotting-factor concentrate.