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[Viral quantitation of hepatitis C virus: present and future]
Introduction:
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) plasmatic load, also called HCV viremia, is expressed in copies per milliliter or viral particle equivalents per milliliter.
Current Knowledge And Key Points:
The methods used to measure HCV viremia are based on two principles: the quantitation of viral proteins (measure of antigenemia using monoclonal antibodies), and the quantitation of viral nucleic acid using PCR after reverse transcription (RT-PCR), or signal amplification (branched DNA). There is no relationship between viremia and liver histologic activity.
Future Prospects And Projects:
The use of HCV quantitative viremia in a treatment algorithm, including other factors such as age, genotype, degree of viral genetic heterogeneity, and liver fibrosis score will help adapt therapeutic associations for each individual.