الفهرس 
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Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major etiologic agent of non-Abrnon-B hepatitis worldwide. (Choo et al., 1990). It has been estimated that 50% of those infected with HCV will develop chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma or a combination of those serious conditions. (MC Hutchinson et al., 1996). Detection of HCV infection has been facilitated by the development of antibody detection methods. However, antibody detection assays are of restricted use because there is a mean window period of 22 weeks between infection & seroconversion. (Alter et al., 1989). Methods which permit the direct detection of virus can augment information from antibody testing. Amplification of viral nucleic acids by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been shown to be an effective mean for the direct detection of HCV (Weiner et al., 1992). Nucleic acid amplification techniques, more suited for the amplification of RNA target sequences than PCR has been described. Davis et al., 1994). Aim of the work: The aim of this work is to compare the sensitivity & specificity of conventional procedure (PCR) and new technologies for the quantitative detection of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in serum of HCV infected individuals.