Winter 1997-98 Volume 2, Number 4		Duration of viremia in hepatitis A is longer than previously thought Researchers at Emory University and CDC have reported that the viremic stage of hepatitis A is much longer than previously thought - perhaps as long as 30 days before the onset of symptoms and for a long time afterwards. They used PCR techniques to examine serial serum samples of 12 men who contracted HAV infection during a clinical trial. HAV RNA was detected in 3 subjects at 28-29 days prior to the peak ALT elevation. HAV RNA persisted in serum specimens for 30-60 days after the ALT peak, with one subject having intermittent HAV RNA present for 340 days. The results support the possibility that adult-based outbreaks of hepatitis A in drug abusers, now the most worrisome pattern in the U.S., may be at least partially due to parenteral transmission (see lead article in this issue of HCR) (Bower WA et al. Duration of viremia in naturally-acquired human hepatitis A viral infections. Presentation at the IDSA 35th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 1997).