The study included 52 patients with chronic hepatitis B who did not have antibodies to the hepatitis C virus and who were also negative in blood to the RNA of this virus. In 21 (40%) of these 52 patients with chronic hepatitis B the presence of hepatitis C virus RNA was detected in the liver biopsy, that is, they had a hidden hepatitis C. When comparing the histological damage presented by the liver of patients with and without occult hepatitis C, it was found that the presence of fibrosis and inflammation was greater in those patients with chronic hepatitis B and hidden hepatitis C than in those who only had chronic hepatitis B In summary, the data suggest that the presence of occult hepatitis C may interfere with the clinical course of chronic hepatitis B.
A new study by members of the Foundation for the Study of Viral Hepatitis on the presence of hidden hepatitis C in patients with chronic hepatitis B is published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.
