Maureen M. Jonas – 10 February 2006 – An estimated 240,000 children in the United States have antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 68,000 to 100,000 are chronically infected with HCV. Acute HCV infection is rarely recognized in children outside of special circumstances such as a known exposure from an HCV‐infected mother or after blood transfusion. Most chronically infected children are asymptomatic and have normal or only mildly abnormal alanine aminotransferase levels.

10 February 2006

10 February 2006

10 February 2006

10 February 2006

W. Ray Kim – 10 February 2006 – According to the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 3.9 million of the U.S. civilian population have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), of whom 2.7 million (74%) have chronic infection. Hepatitis C virus infection is most common among non‐Caucasian men, ages 30 to 49 years. Moreover, the prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in groups not represented in the NHANES sample, such as the homeless or incarcerated, may be as high as 40%.

John G. McHutchison, Keyur Patel – 10 February 2006 – Currently available therapies for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C are effective in half of patients, but are expensive, often poorly tolerated, and unsuitable for certain patients populations. The ideal therapy would be highly effective, orally bioavailable, have minimal side effects, be cost effective, and suitable for the majority of patients with hepatitis C.

Eve A. Roberts, Latifa Yeung – 10 February 2006 – Mother‐to‐infant transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) is comparatively uncommon. The prevalence of antibody to HCV (anti‐HCV) in pregnant women is 0.1% to 2.4%, although in some endemic areas it is much higher. The proportion of women with anti‐HCV who have active infection with viremia is 60% to 70%. Transmission of HCV occurs only when serum HCV RNA is detectable and may be related to higher levels (above 106 copies per mL). The rate of mother‐to‐infant transmission is 4% to 7% per pregnancy in women with HCV viremia.

Kelly A. Gebo, H. Franklin Herlong, Michael S. Torbenson, Mollie W. Jenckes, Geetanjali Chander, Khalil G. Ghanem, Samer S. El‐Kamary, Mark Sulkowski, Eric B. Bass – 10 February 2006 – This systematic review addresses 2 questions pertinent to the need for pretreatment liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C: how well do liver biopsy results predict treatment outcomes for chronic hepatitis C? How well do biochemical blood tests and serologic measures of fibrosis predict the biopsy findings in chronic hepatitis C?

10 February 2006