Characteristics of immune status of infectionists in contact with viral hepatitis c patients

It is known the phenomenon of T-cell specific immune response to hepatitis C virus antigens in persons who are in contact with hepatitis C patients but have no evidence of viremia and antibodies to this pathogen. The aim of this study was to determine peculiarities of cellular immune response among health care workers (HCWs) in professional contact with the hepatitis C patients and negative for markers of viral hepatitis C associated with this phenomenon. There were established some features of the immune status of health care workers in contact with HCV patients, which included significant reduction in regulatory T-cells in the blood of contacts, the fall of the proliferative activity of their T cells and NK cells in response to PHA and the predominance of proliferative activity of CTLs in the influence of HCV 1b antigens. Such changes were interpreted as the signs of protective immune response to nondetected quantities of HCV in the body of HCWs in contact with HCV-infected patients.