Abstract
Abstract Abstract In recent years, commercial HCV antibody screening assays, which were first launched in 1990, have been significantly improved in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Standardized methods for the qualitative and quantitative detection of HCV–RNA are now available and show, due to the introduction of an international standard, a good comparability. Alternatively, the quantification of circulating amounts of viral antigen in the peripheral blood can be performed with a commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA). One of the main routes of transmission of HCV infection – blood transfusion and blood products – has almost been eliminated by significant improvements in laboratory diagnostics. Actually, i. v. drug abusers represent the main risk group for HCV infection. Research-based methods used so far for the measurement of cellular immunity and neutralizing antibodies may play an important role in the development of a HCV vaccine.
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