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Updated: May 20, 2026
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Detection and Quantification of Hepatitis B Virus DNA
Published on: December 15, 2023
Hepatitis C virus quantification in serum and saliva of HCV-infected patients
Gisele Barreto Lopes Menezes1, Fernanda Albuquerque Pereira, César Augusto Barros Duarte
1Laboratório de Patologia e Biologia Molecular-Fiocruz, Rua Waldemar Falcão 121, 40296-710 Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Abstract:
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be detected in blood and other bodily fluids, such as saliva, semen and gastric juices. The aim of this study was to compare the HCV viral loads in the serum and saliva of infected patients. Twenty-nine patients with detectable HCV RNA in their serum and saliva were included in this study. The HCV viral loads were determined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions. The median viral RNA levels were 5.78 log10 copies in the serum and 3.32 log10 copies in the saliva. We observed that the salivary HCV viral load was significantly lower than the viral load in the serum. Further studies are required to understand the role of saliva in the diagnosis, management and potential transmission of HCV.
