Prevalence of Antibodies to Hepatitis C Virus in Blood Donors in Riyadh

Al-Mofarreh, Mohammed; Fakunle, Y.M.; El-Karamany, Wafaa M.; Ezzat, Handy O.; Ballesteros, Maria N.; Khawaji, Mohammed Z.; El-Drees, Abdallah Z.

doi:10.5144/0256-4947.1991.501

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Using a 2 antigen recombinant confirmatory test, the seroprevalence reduces to just under 0.5% for the entire population. That by Al-Mofarreh et al [25] on blood donors identifies a similar incidence of 2.24%. Another paper by Fakunle et al [18] indicates that 53.7% of all hemodialysis patients have HCV antibodies.…”

supporting

confidence: 55%

Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis and Hepatitis C: The Relationship Serodiagnostic Pitfalls and the Challenge of Treatment

1991

Ann Saudi Med

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supporting

confidence: 55%

Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis and Hepatitis C: The Relationship Serodiagnostic Pitfalls and the Challenge of Treatment

1991

Ann Saudi Med

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“…35 The increase in exposure to HCV with age was confirmed in two hospital-based studies (Table 3) where anti-HCV positivity reached 5.0% in people over 50 years of age in Riyadh 36 and 5.4% in people 40 to 49 years of age in Al-Baja (southwestern Saudi Arabia). 37 Among 11 studies [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] we reviewed on the prevalence of anti-HCV-positivity among blood donors, only three used second-generation EIA tests plus a confirmatory test (Table 4). [45][46][47] The largest study covered 6948 Saudi blood donors from the various blood centers of the Kingdom and an overall prevalence rate of 1.1% was found.…”

Section: Endemicity Of Hcv In Saudi Arabiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection in Saudi Arabia: A Review

Al-Faleh

Ramia

1997

Ann Saudi Med

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It is well established now that HCV is the major etiological agent of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis (PT-NANBH), [1][2][3] and that it has a worldwide distribution. Studies on HCV infection have led to three striking observations. First, there is a high frequency of chronic infection in a significant number of infected individuals. It is estimated that at least 50% of HCV infections lead to chronic liver disease, including chronic active hepatitis with or without concurrent cirrhosis. [4][5][6] Second, HCV has been implicated as one of the major causative agents of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan 7 , Saudi Arabia, 8 and other parts of the world. [9][10] Third, approximately 45% of HCV cases have no obvious risk factors, including parenteral exposure, 4-6 leaving unanswered the question of virus transmission via as yet unidentified routes of exposure. The aim of this article is to review the literature about the extent of HCV infection in Saudi Arabia and see what can be concluded from the studies conducted so far. However, since there have been dramatic advances in the serologic diagnosis of HCV during the past six to seven years, we would first like to briefly review those serologic tests used and their reliability in diagnosing HCV infection. Diagnosis of HCV Infection Anti-HCV enzyme immunoassay (EIA) testsHCV infection, once a diagnosis of "exclusion" based on the absence of markers of acute infection with hepatitis A virus (HAV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV) can now be specifically diagnosed by using serodiagnostic assays for virus-specific antibodies.11 A first-generation anti-HCV EIA test was developed by using recombinant c100-3, derived from the NS3/NS4 region of the genome of HCV, as antigen (Figure 1). The test was used widely and although important data was generated, the test suffered from major drawbacks. These included failure to discover all patients with HCV infection, 12 long "window-phase" before seroconversion (could be up to 12 months), 13 in addition to a high rate of false-positive reactions. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20] To circumvent the drawbacks of the anti-HCV c100-3 test, recombinant or synthetic antigens derived from other regions of the HCV genome were included in the test and this is what is referred to as second-generation anti-HCV EIA tests. The additional antigens c22 and c33 were derived from two conserved regions: the structural region (core) and NS3 region, respectively (Figure l). 21,22 In patients with posttransfusion NANBH, the seroconversion rate improved from 54% with the first-generation to 82% with a second-generation test and the time lag to seroconversion decreased from a mean of 6.1 weeks after the onset of hepatitis with the first-generation test to a mean of 2.3 weeks with the second-generation test.23 Thus, the second-generation test reduces the "window-phase" to seroconversion and increases the sensitivity in diagnosing HCV infection, with a dramatic reduction in the number of false-positive reactions seen with the first-generation ...

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“…The difference between Saudi and expatriate women was not significant compared with the findings in males in whom a significantly greater number of expatriate males tested positive for anti-HCV compared with Saudi males [12]. The HCV in our subjects may have been community acquired as none of them had had a transfusion of blood or blood products in the past nor did they lead high-risk lifestyles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 45%