Prevalence and significance of antibodies to hepatitis C virus among Saudi haemodialysis patients.

Seventy-four patients who were maintained on chronic haemodialysis in King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia were tested using the recently available ELISA to determine the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in a haemodialysis unit. The prevalence rate of anti-HCV antibodies of 41.9% in the haemodialysis patients was significantly higher than the rate of 3.9% detected in 488 asymptomatic blood donors who were similarly tested. In the haemodialysis patients, anti-HCV positivity was related to previous blood transfusion (greater than 5 units of blood) and to the duration of haemodialysis (greater than 4 years); but was unrelated to sex, age, positive HBV markers or to past or current elevation of serum ALT. The results indicate a relatively higher prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in our patients compared to rates of 1-20% reported from Europe and the U.S.A. An effective control strategy for HCV infection in this high risk group is urgently indicated.