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©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 28, 2016; 22(4): 1382-1392
Published online Jan 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i4.1382
Published online Jan 28, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i4.1382
Vertically acquired hepatitis C virus infection: Correlates of transmission and disease progression
Pier-Angelo Tovo, Carmelina Calitri, Carlo Scolfaro, Clara Gabiano, Silvia Garazzino, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Torino, Ospedale Infantile Regina Margherita, Città della Salute e della Scienza, 10126 Torino, Italy
Author contributions: Tovo PA contributed to conception, preparation of the article, literature review and approved the final version of the article; Calitri C, Scolfaro C and Gabiano C contributed to drafting of the article and literature review; Garazzino S contributed to conception, drafted the article and critically reviewed the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict-of-interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Pier-Angelo Tovo, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Turin, Ospedale Infantile Regina Margherita, Piazza Polonia 94, 10126 Torino, Italy. pierangelo.tovo@unito.it
Telephone: +39-11-3135800-256
Received: May 6, 2015
Peer-review started: May 11, 2015
First decision: August 31, 2015
Revised: September 18, 2015
Accepted: November 30, 2015
Article in press: December 1, 2015
Published online: January 28, 2016
Peer-review started: May 11, 2015
First decision: August 31, 2015
Revised: September 18, 2015
Accepted: November 30, 2015
Article in press: December 1, 2015
Published online: January 28, 2016
Core Tip
Core tip: Approximately 5% of exposed infants acquire hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection from the mother. Several correlates of vertical transmission have been identified, but no preventive intervention is available. Spontaneous viral clearance takes place in 25% of infected children within 6 years of age. Chronic infection has a mild/moderate course in the majority of children, though severe liver damage may develop. The new direct acting antiviral agents open exciting therapeutic perspectives for HCV infected children and offer an immediate opportunity to prevent the vertical transmission by reducing the burden of infected women of child-bearing age.