Hepatitis C antibody prevalence in blood donors in different governorates in Egypt

Markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections were sought in serum samples from 2644 blood donors in 24 of Egypt's 26 governorates. Of the 2644 samples, 656 (24·8%) were shown to contain anti-HCV immunoglobulin G antibody by Abbott second generation enzyme immunoassa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 1997-05, Vol.91 (3), p.271-274
Main Authors: Arthur, Ray R., Hassan, Nassef Farahat, Abdallah, Mahasan Yousef, El-Sharkawy, Mohamed Said, Saad, Magdy Darwish, Hackbart, Barbara G., Imam, Imam Zaghloul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Donors
Egypt
Egypt - epidemiology
hepatitis B
Hepatitis B Antibodies - analysis
hepatitis C
Hepatitis C - epidemiology
Hepatitis C - immunology
Hepatitis C Antibodies - analysis
Human viral diseases
Humans
Immunoglobulin G - analysis
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Prevalence
Tropical medicine
Viral diseases
Viral hepatitis
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Summary:Markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections were sought in serum samples from 2644 blood donors in 24 of Egypt's 26 governorates. Of the 2644 samples, 656 (24·8%) were shown to contain anti-HCV immunoglobulin G antibody by Abbott second generation enzyme immunoassays (EIA). Of 85 EIA-positive samples tested by recombinant immunoblot assay, 72 (85%) were positive. HCV seroprevalence in the governorates ranged from zero to 38%; 15 governorates (62%) had an HCV antibody prevalence greater than 20%, and 6 (25%) greater than 30%. Governorates with higher seroprevalences were located in the central and north-eastern Nile river delta, and south of Cairo in the Nile river valley. Subjects from areas in and adjoining the Sinai peninsula, in the eastern and western desert, and in southernmost Egypt, had the lowest prevalence of HCV antibody. The large urban governorates of Cairo and Alexandria had antibody prevalences of 19% and 11%, respectively. A total of 39·4% subjects had evidence of HBV infection (and-HBV core antigen total antibody). HCV infections were detected more frequently in donors with markers for HBV infections than in uninfected subjects (36% versus 18%, P < 0.001).
ISSN:0035-9203
1878-3503
DOI:10.1016/S0035-9203(97)90070-5