Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus specific antibodies among Iraqi children with thalassaemia.

The seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) specific antibodies and HCV genotypes distribution were studied among 559 Iraqi children with thalassaemia in receipt of repeated blood transfusions. HCV-specific antibodies were detected in 376 (67.3%) serum samples using third-generation enzyme immunoassay and confirmatory immunoblot assays. Of 78 randomly selected sera, 48 (61.5%) were HCV-RNA positive. HCV genotypes 1a, 1b, 4 and mixed 1b and 4 were demonstrated in 13 (27.1%), 11 (22.9%), 17 (35.4%) and 7 (14.6%) sera respectively. Strict measures for the controlling the spread of HCV are needed by introducing advanced techniques for blood donor screening.