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Hepatitis C and Body Fluids
What
About Tears?
Can your family
catch hepatitis C from your tears? Probably not, but there are studies
out there that have detected the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in tear fluid.
A French study appeared this last March in the Journal of Medical
Virology that says their findings "suggest that tear fluid may
transmit HCV but the source of HCV RNA in this fluid needs to be better
understood." The virus was detected in the tears of 5 out of the 51
patients with Hep C that they tested.
Similar studies were done in Hamburg, Germany, and published in medical
journals [J Clin Microbiol 33: 2202-2203, 1995, and Microbiol Immunol
38: 157-158, 1994], where all their samples tested positive for HCV.
They state, "Remarkably, we regularly found greater amounts of
amplification products in tear fluid and eye swabs compared to plasma
using the same conditions for sample preparation."
What about transmission by tear fluid from patient to patient in a
medical setting, such as during tests for glaucoma? I interviewed a
local ophthalmologist, and he told me that he was very careful, and
sterilized the instrument that actually touches the eye with alcohol.
There are studies, however, that indicate that only heat can kill HIV,
one of which was published in the September 1996 issue of Nature
Medicine. It seems that HCV is not so contagious as HIV, but even harder
to kill. The effectiveness of alcohol as a means of killing HCV remains
in question.
Barbers
A study was done in Atlanta, GA [Ann Intern Med 126(5): 410-411 (1997)]
that indicates that disinfectants used by barbers still contained HCV
after 7 days. In an article written by Gurevich, et. al. [J Hosp Infect,
Apr 1996], speaking of disinfection practices in dentistry, the authors
state, "some of the liquid chemical products used were not suitable
for sterilizing instruments, and 12% of respondents used incorrect
contact times." It seems that there are insufficient studies at
this time to really say. The ophthalmologist I talked to mentioned that
there is equipment here in town that checks for glaucoma without direct
contact with the eye. It might be a good idea to talk to your eye doctor
before your next examination, to find out what kind of equipment is used
for the glaucoma test. Personally, I want to avoid passing on hepatitis
C, and I also want to avoid being infected with other viruses.4
Eye Conditions Related to HCV Speaking of
eye doctors, there are eye conditions related to hepatitis C or to
interferon treatments of which your doctor may not be aware. Hep
C-caused problems may include:
Mikuliez's
syndrome corneal ulceration
Mooren's corneal
ulcersand
dry eyes (sicca
or Sjogren's syndrome).
Rare complications found associated with interferon therapy were:
vascular
retinopathy
optic neuropathy
retinal
haemorrhages
cotton- wool
spots and
retinal artery
or vein obstruction.
If you are
having vision problems, it may be a good idea to check with your local
support group for materials to take with you to your appointment.
Joan
Diemecke
Saliva may have infectious amounts of HCV
in presence of high HCV viral load and gum disease
“This study suggests that the saliva
of individuals infected with hepatitis C may be infectious,” conclude the
investigators, adding that “microscopic amounts of blood in the saliva due
to gum disease may be responsible. People with HCV are cautioned not to
share toothbrushes with other people in their household."
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