Does hepatitis C virus play a role in "non-viral" chronic liver disease?

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Updated: Oct 2, 2026

A Protocol for Analyzing Hepatitis C Virus Replication
13:04

A Protocol for Analyzing Hepatitis C Virus Replication

Published on: June 26, 2014

C Liddle1, E B Crewe, N R Swanson

  • 1University of Sydney, NSW.

The Medical Journal of Australia
|September 3, 1990
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies were detected in some patients with unexplained liver disease, suggesting HCV may cause cryptogenic cirrhosis. However, HCV is unlikely to cause autoimmune liver diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Virology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Chronic liver diseases are often attributed to non-viral causes.
  • The role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in these conditions is under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients with chronic liver diseases of unknown etiology.
  • To determine if HCV infection contributes to conditions like cryptogenic cirrhosis and autoimmune chronic active hepatitis.

Main Methods:

  • Sera from 140 patients with
  • non-viral
  • chronic liver diseases, 51 with chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis, and 25 with non-hepatic autoimmune disorders were tested for anti-HCV antibodies.
  • Patients were assessed for risk factors for parenteral transmission.

Main Results:

  • 88% of chronic NANB hepatitis patients were anti-HCV seropositive.
  • 8 out of 26 patients (31%) with cryptogenic cirrhosis were anti-HCV seropositive, with 5 having no clear transmission risk.
  • Only 4.7% of other chronic liver disease patients without known risk factors tested positive for anti-HCV.

Conclusions:

  • Hepatitis C virus infection may be a cause of some cryptogenic cirrhosis cases.
  • The low prevalence of anti-HCV in autoimmune chronic active hepatitis suggests HCV is not a primary cause of this condition.

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