%0 Journal Article
%1 Heidrich20161
%A Heidrich, B
%A Steinmann, E
%A Plumeier, I
%A Kirschner, J
%A Sollik, L
%A Ziegert, S
%A Engelmann, M
%A Lehmann, P
%A Manns, M P
%A Pieper, D H
%A Wedemeyer, H
%D 2016
%E Virol, J Clin
%J J Clin Virol
%K pietschmann
%P 1 - 7
%T Frequent detection of HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg in stool of patients with chronic hepatitis C
%V 80
%X AbstractBackground and objective \HCV\ is transmitted mainly by parenteral routes. However, unprotected anal intercourse has also been identified as a risk factor for \HCV\ infection. \HCV\ \RNA\ can be detected in blood, saliva, and bile, but the presence of \HCV\ in stool has not been investigated yet. Study design Therefore, stool samples of 98 patients were collected prospectively. Specific \HCV\ primers were used to identify samples positive for \HCV\ RNA. \HCV\ RNA-positive samples were tested for \HCVcoreAg\ with the Architect \HCVAg\ assay (Abbott). Presence of occult blood was investigated by the hemoCARE guajak test. Viral stability and infectivity of recombinant \HCV\ particles was investigated in vitro by incubation of genotype 2a chimeric virus Jc1 with bile and stool suspensions. Results \HCV\ \RNA\ could be detected in 68 out of 98 stool samples from patients with chronic hepatitis C and 16 samples also tested positive for HCVcoreAg. Presence of \HCV\ \RNA\ in stool was more frequent in male than in female and in patients with low platelet counts but was not associated with the detection of occult blood. Stool suspensions and to a lesser extent bile reduced the in vitro infectivity of genotype 2a chimeric Jc1 virus even though infection of Huh7 cells was not completely abrogated. Conclusions In summary, this study shows for the first time that \HCV\ can frequently be detected in stool samples of chronically infected patients irrespective of occult bleeding. We suggest that stool can be a potential source for \HCV\ infection and thus unprotected anal intercourse should be avoided.