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[Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus in the general population]
M Montserrat Chimeno1, Angel Chocarro, Purificación Brezmes
1Servicios de Medicina Interna, Hospital Virgen de la Concha, Zamora, Spain.
Aim:
To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and to study associated risk factors in the general population of the province of Zamora.
Patients And Methods:
For this transversal, observational, descriptive, population study, we randomly selected 1973 individuals over 14 years old and grouped them according to age and sex. The study included completion of a questionnaire containing socio-demographic information and data on risk factors. Serum samples were collected for analysis of antibodies to HCV by means of a third-generation ELISA, and were confirmed by an immunoblot technique. Viral load and genotype analyses were carried out in positive cases by polymerase chain reaction technique.
Results:
Among the total, 600 complete studies (questionnaires and serum samples) 657 questionnaires and 675 samples were obtained. Eleven serum samples tested positive for HCV and among these, 5 were confirmed by immunoblot. The positive samples corresponded to 3 men and 2 women; 4 lived in urban settings and all 5 had one or more known risk factors for acquiring the infection.
Conclusions:
The prevalence of HCV infection in our geographical area was 0.74% (95% CI, 0.27-1.82). The seropositive individuals detected in this population screening study had a history of parenteral risk activities and most lived in urban areas.