Prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies among blood donors and risky groups in Diyala

Abstract EN

Objective : to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among blood donors and risky population in Diyala province.

Materials and methods : in this retrospective study, the records of HCV screening and confirmatory tests were reviewed for the period 1996-2001.Third generation Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and Enzyme immunoblot assay were used as screening and confirmatory tests respectively.

Results : the prevalence of HCV infection among blood donors was 0.15 %, with the highest in 1997.

The highest prevalence rates were found among multiple blood recipient; hemophilia, thalassemia and hemodialysis patients (27.3 %, 16.9 % & 14.3 %) respectively.

Whereas, the patients with chronic hepatitis B infection and those with acute icteric hepatitis showed slightly elevated prevalence (2.9 % & 2.1 %) respectively.

The overall prevalence in the province was 9.9 / 105 population.

The mean age of infected patients was 29.7 years and the male : female ratio was 3 : 1.

Conclusion : the prevalence of HCV infection in Diyala population is relatively low.

However, the HCV infection is concentrated in certain risky groups, particularly multiple blood recipients.