Anti-HCV related to HCV PCR and risk factors analysis in a blood donor population of Central Brazil

Abstract

Data concerning HCV infection in Central Brazil are rare. Upon testing 2,350 voluntary blood donors from this region, we found anti-HCV prevalence rates of 2.2% by a second generation ELISA and 1.4% after confirmation by a line immunoassay. Antibodies against core, NS4, and NS5 antigens of HCV were detected in 81.8%, 72.7%, and 57.5%, respectively, of the positive samples in the line immunoassay. HCV viremia was present in 76.6% of the anti-HCV-positive blood donors. A relation was observed between PCR positivity and serum reactivity in recognizing different HCV antigens in the line immunoassay. The majority of the positive donors had history of previous parenteral exposure. While the combination of ALT > 50 IU/l and anti-HBc positivity do not appear to be good surrogate markers for HCV infection, the use of both ALT anti-HCV tests is indicated in the screening of Brazilian blood donors.

Hepatitis C prevalence and risk factors in hemodialysis patients in Central Brazil: a survey by polymerase chain reaction and serological methods

“…The present investigation showed high prevalence rates of HCV infection in hemodialysis patients from Goiânia city, when compared to rates found in blood donors (1.4%) and the female population (0.9%) from the same region (Martins et al 1994(Martins et al , 1995. Nevertheless, with reference to other Brazilian hemodialysis populations, anti-HCV prevalence (39%) was higher than those observed previously in Goiânia and Porto Alegre (Karohl et al 1995, Naghettini et al 1997, but similar to that obtained in São Paulo (Góngora 1998), and lower than the prevalence found in Rio de Janeiro .…”

Prevalence of hepatitis C Virus infection among hemophiliacs in Central Brazil

“…The present investigation showed a high HCV infection prevalence in hemophiliacs in Goiânia city when compared to that found in local blood donors (1.4%) (Martins et al 1994). Nevertheless, with reference to other hemophiliacs populations, this rate was similar to that obtained in Minas Gerais, Brazil (62%) and Canada (63%) (Blanchette et al 1994, Rocha et al 1994), but lower than prevalences observed in the United Kingdom (76%), the USA (89.3%) and New Zeland (89.6%) (Troisi et al 1993, Jackson et al 1994, Ahmed et al 1996.…”

Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in quilombo remnant communities in Central Brazil

“…All of them were HCV RNA negative. The anti-HCV prevalence found in this study is lower than that observed previously among blood donors from the same region (1.4%) 7 , but comparable with those reported in other Brazilian rural populations (0-1.7%) 5,9 . These data suggest that HCV infection has a low endemicity in rural populations in Brazil.…”