Challenge Inoculum for Hepatitis C Virus Controlled Human Infection Model

Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America: Volume 77, Issue Suppl 3, Page S257-S261

For any controlled human infection model (CHIM), a safe, standardized, and biologically relevant challenge inoculum is necessary. For hepatitis C virus (HCV) CHIM, we propose that human-derived high-titer inocula of several viral genotypes with extensive virologic, serologic, and molecular characterizations should be the most appropriate approach. These inocula should first be tested in human volunteers in a step-wise manner to ensure safety, reproducibility, and curability prior to using them for testing the efficacy of candidate vaccines.

DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciad336