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. 2010 Jun;51(3):219-28.
doi: 10.3325/cmj.2010.51.219.

Prospective study of prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C in pregnant Egyptian women and its transmission to their infants

Khaled AbdulQawi  1 , Ahmed Youssef, Mohamed A Metwally, Ibrahim Ragih, Mohamed AbdulHamid, AbdulAziz Shaheen
Affiliations

Prospective study of prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis C in pregnant Egyptian women and its transmission to their infants

Khaled AbdulQawi et al. Croat Med J. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Aim: To estimate the hepatitis C virus (HCV) vertical transmission rate, the effect of potential risk factors, and the pattern of HCV antibody response and viremia in HCV-infected infants in Benha, Egypt.

Methods: A total of 1224 pregnant women who were treated at Benha University Hospital, Egypt, were included in the study. They completed a questionnaire about risk factors for HCV acquisition and suspected risk factors for mother-to-infant transmission and were tested for HCV antibody using a third-generation ELISA test. Women positive for HCV antibody were tested for HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction. Peripheral blood of infants of positive HCV-RNA women was tested for HCV antibody and HCV-RNA at 1 and after 6 months of age.

Results: Out of 1224 pregnant women, 105 (8.6%; 95% confidence interval, 7.05-10.17) were positive for HCV antibody. Only 83 (6.8%; 5.39-7.21) were positive for HCV-RNA. HCV infection was associated with older age (1.16; 1.1-1.2, P=0.001), blood transfusion (2.69; 1.2-6.0, P=0.016), and HCV infection of the husband (5.47; 1.4-21, P=0.014) or other household members (2.29; 1.2-4.6, P=0.019). Out of 53 infants tested at first month, 43 (81%; 71-92%) were positive for HCV antibody, but only 7 (13%; 4.1-22%) were positive for HCV-RNA. After 6 months, only 2 (3.8%; 0-8.95%) remained positive for HCV RNA.

Conclusions: The prevalence of HCV in pregnant women in Egypt is lower than previously reported and the potential risk factors associated with HCV infection suggest intra-familial transmission. The frequency of vertical transmission of HCV in Egypt is not substantially different from other countries and does not play a role in the high prevalence of HCV in Egypt.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Design and follow up of the study. Abbreviations: HCV – hepatitis C virus; PCR – polymerase chain reaction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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