[Chronic hepatitis C virus infection in children]

Peripartum transmission is today the main cause of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in children. HCV infection rarely causes a clinical illness during childhood and adolescence, except when it is associated with additional risk factors such as hepatitis B or HIV infection, chemotherapy or immunodeficiency. Present data suggest that between 20 to 50 percent of contaminated infants will become spontaneously non viremic within 15 to 20 years. Studies on treatment with interferon-alpha are limited and show a mean recovery rate of 40%.