State Medical University, Pasteur Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, St.-Petersburg, Russia
Duration of hepatitis A virus (HAV) RNA circulation in blood of patients with HA was assessed and compared with intensity of cytolytic syndrome. Detection of viral RNA was performed by RT-PCR method with specific prim-ers to VP1/P2A region of HAV genome. 54 blood serum samples from 40 patients were prospectively studied on the presence of HAV RNA. The latter was detected in 53.7% of serum samples. The greatest number of positive results of HAV RNA detection in blood of the patients with HA was obtained from 8th to 21st day of illness (77.4%). Prolonged viremia (42±9 days) was observed in more than 20% of the patients. The maximal time of HAV RNA daetection in blood serum amounted 74 days (period of follow-up). HAV RNA was present in almost all patients with AlAT activity higher than 500 U/l regardless of duration of illness.
Zh. Microbiol. (Moscow), 2007, No. 5, P. 20—23