INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody seroprevalence studies overestimate the true infection rate. No data exist on the incidence of HCV or its clinical features in blood donors of sub-Saharan Africa. AIMS: To establish the true incidence of HCV infection in volunteer blood donors in the Western Cape, and compare risk factors and clinical and biochemical features of viraemic and non-viraemic subjects. METHODS: All donors attending the Western Province Blood Transfusion Service between December 1992 and August 1994 were screened prospectively for anti-HCV using the Abbott second-generation assay. Positive donors were evaluated clinically and biochemically. Their sera were examined for HCV-RNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Of 66314 donors screened, 275 (0.41%) were anti-HCV-positive. Of these 13.6% were PCR-positive (0.056% of all donors). PCR-positive patients had more risk factors for HCV acquisition (P < 0.01), symptoms of hepatitis (P = 0.02) and clinical signs of liver disease (P = 0.05) and higher alanine (P < 0.0001) and aspartate aminotransferase levels (P < 0.0001) than PCR-negative donors. However, clinical and biochemical features did not discriminate adequately between PCR-positive and negative donors. Liver biopsies performed in 9 of 13 PCR-positive cases showed mild inflammation, but no cirrhosis.
INTRODUCTION:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody seroprevalence studies overestimate the true infection rate. No data exist on the incidence of HCV or its clinical features in blood donors of sub-Saharan Africa. AIMS: To establish the true incidence of HCV infection in volunteer blood donors in the Western Cape, and compare risk factors and clinical and biochemical features of viraemic and non-viraemic subjects. METHODS: All donors attending the Western Province Blood Transfusion Service between December 1992 and August 1994 were screened prospectively for anti-HCV using the Abbott second-generation assay. Positive donors were evaluated clinically and biochemically. Their sera were examined for HCV-RNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Of 66314 donors screened, 275 (0.41%) were anti-HCV-positive. Of these 13.6% were PCR-positive (0.056% of all donors). PCR-positive patients had more risk factors for HCV acquisition (P < 0.01), symptoms of hepatitis (P = 0.02) and clinical signs of liver disease (P = 0.05) and higher alanine (P < 0.0001) and aspartate aminotransferase levels (P < 0.0001) than PCR-negative donors. However, clinical and biochemical features did not discriminate adequately between PCR-positive and negative donors. Liver biopsies performed in 9 of 13 PCR-positive cases showed mild inflammation, but no cirrhosis.
Authors: C L Cherry; J S Affandi; B J Brew; J Creighton; S Djauzi; D J Hooker; D Imran; A Kamarulzaman; P Kamerman; J C McArthur; R D Moore; P Price; K Smyth; I L Tan; S Vanar; A Wadley; S L Wesselingh; E Yunihastuti Journal: Neurology Date: 2010-05-11 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Marion Vermeulen; Ronel Swanevelder; Dhuly Chowdhury; Charlotte Ingram; Ravi Reddy; Evan M Bloch; Brian S Custer; Edward L Murphy Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2017-09 Impact factor: 6.883