Mother to child transmission of hepatitis C virus: prospective study of risk factors and timing of infection in children born to women seronegative for HIV-1

Abstract

This study suggests that in women not infected with HIV only those with hepatitis C virus RNA are at risk of infecting their babies. Transmission does seem to occur in utero, and the rate of transmission is higher in women who have had blood transfusions or used intravenous drugs than in women with no known risk factor for infection.