Hepatitis C virus infection among children in aboriginal areas in Taiwan

The prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among adults in aboriginal areas has been shown to be higher than in urban areas in Taiwan. Whether the prevalence of HCV infection is also higher among children in aboriginal areas remains unclear. In total, 1176 schoolchildren in four aboriginal areas were invited to participate in the study. All children were tested for serum antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) and liver enzymes. The age range of children was 6-13 years. Another 606 sex- and age-matched schoolchildren from an urban area served as controls. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence of anti-HCV between aboriginal and Han Chinese students in aboriginal areas. The prevalence of anti-HCV was 0.3% (4/1176) in aboriginal areas, which was similar to the prevalence of 0% (0/606) in the urban area. The four anti-HCV seropositive aboriginal children were all negative for HCV RNA. Our data suggest that the high prevalence of anti-HCV among aboriginal adults might be due to subsequent exposure to risk factors after school age.