[Prevalence and risk factors of hepatitis C in Roma people in Brno]

Assessment of hepatitis C prevalence in a representative sample of Roma people in the town of Brno and determination of the main risk factors of this disease.

A 27-item questionnaire was prepared for this project. The questions were focused on basic demographic data and risk factors significant for possible transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Data from 415 respondents were obtained. As the questionnaires were collected, anti-HCV antibodies in capillary blood were detected. In case of anti-HCV positivity, HCV RNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in venous blood. The main results are as follows: (1) the employment rate in the Roma population living in Brno is very low (14.3 %), (2) almost 86 % of the respondents had only primary education, (3) the prevalence of HCV infection was 4.3 %, i.e. many times higher than in the general Czech population (0.2 % in 2001), (4) intravenous drug use and former imprisonment were the significant parameters associated with HCV infection, (5) heroin abuse prevailed over pervitin (methamphetamine) abuse especially in unemployed men under 20 years of age, and (6) heroin abuse was associated with higher risk of HCV infection than pervitin abuse.

Hepatitis C is much more frequent in Brno Roma people than in general Czech population, mainly due to more frequent drug abuse in this ethnic minority.