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. 1991;60(3):162-4.
doi: 10.1111/j.1423-0410.1991.tb00894.x.

Hepatitis C virus antibodies in high-risk Saudi groups

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Hepatitis C virus antibodies in high-risk Saudi groups

H Bahakim et al. Vox Sang. 1991.

Abstract

The recombinant-based enzyme immunoassay developed by Ortho Diagnostic System for the detection of antibodies of hepatis C virus (HCV) was used to determine the extent of exposure to HCV in healthy Saudi subjects (500 males; 260 females) without liver disease and with no history of percutaneous exposure to blood and in Saudis who are considered at high risk for contracting the disease: hemophiliacs (28), thalassemics (78), hemodialysis patients with renal failure (65) and patients with sexually transmitted diseases (STD) (220). The results show that HCV is endemic in the Saudi population with an overall frequency of 5.3% in healthy Saudi adults which is at least 5 times higher than what has been reported from Western Europe and the United States. Seropositivity rate in the high-risk groups ranges from 15.9% in patients with STD to 78.6% in hemophiliacs. These data underscore the urgent need for routine anti-HCV screening of blood donations in order to reduce the frequency of postransfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis and its sequelae in the Saudi population.

PIP: Non-A, non-B hepatitis, recently renamed as hepatitis C virus (HCV), accounts for over 90% of hepatitis cases worldwide associated with blood transfusions. Application of a recombinant-based enzyme immunoassay for the detection of antibodies to HCV to a sample of 500 male Saudi blood donors and 260 healthy Saudi pregnant women indicated that HVC is endemic in the Saudi population. Anti-HCV was detected in 28 (5.6%) of the blood donors and 12 (4.6%) of the pregnant women, for an overall frequency of 5.3% in healthy Saudi adults who had never received blood transfusions. This rate is at least 5 times higher than that reported for the US and Western Europe. Also assessed was the HCV rate in subsamples of Saudis considered at risk of this infection. Here, anti-HCV was detected in 22 (78.6%) hemophiliacs, 26 (33.3%) patients with thalassemia and sickle cell disease, 17 (26.1%) hemodialysis patients with renal failure, and 35 (15.9%) individuals with a sexually transmitted disease. The prevalence of anti-HBc ranged from 28% in blood donors to 46% in hemophiliacs. The significantly higher prevalence of HCV in patients with sexually transmitted diseases than in blood donors suggests that this disease is transmitted through heterosexual contact as well as blood transfusions. Given the high baseline level of HCV infection in the Saudi population and the possibility of serious sequelae (e.g., chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma), routine anti-HCV screening of blood donations is urged.

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