PREVALENCE OF ANTIBODIES TO HEPATITIS C VIRUS IN HOSPITALIZED POPULATION SUBSETS

Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV antibody) was ascertained in different subsets of hospitalized patients. Anti-HCV antibody testing was done using a third generation test The anti-HCV positivity in the sera of 308 tuberculosis patients, who had been given streptomycin, was 12.3 per cent It was 7.1 percent among 84 cardiac patients undergoing invasive cardiac procedures, 15.6 per cent in 77 patients on haemodialysis and 41.2 per cent patients with surgical jaundice. It is surmised that hospitalization, particularly parenteral therapy and invasive procedures during hospitalization, puts patients at higher risk of contracting HCV infecticn.