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1.
Eur J Epidemiol ; 18(7): 695-7, 2003.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-12952145

ABSTRACT

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of transfusion-associated hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The present study was conducted with an objective to evaluate the prevalence of anti-HCV antibody in New Delhi, India using a large number of healthy voluntary blood donors. A total of 15,898 healthy voluntary blood donors were subjected to anti-HCV testing (using a commercially available third generation anti-HCV ELISA kit) and 249 were found to be reactive for anti-HCV antibody, yielding an overall prevalence of 1.57%. No significant difference was found between the HCV positivity rate of male (1.57%; 238/15,152) vs. female (1.47%; 11/746) donors, family (1.58%; 213/13,521) vs. altruistic (1.51%; 36/2377) donors and first-time (1.55%; 180/11,605) vs. repeat (1.61%; 69/4293) donors. The age distribution of anti-HCV reactivity showed a maximum prevalence rate of 1.8% in the age group of 20-29 years. In addition, there was a clear trend of decreasing positivity for anti-HCV with increasing age and this trend was statistically significant. The results of the present study show that the prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in the healthy voluntary blood donors of New Delhi, India is considerably higher than the reported seroprevalence of HCV in majority of the industrialized nations and this represents a large reservoir of infection capable of inflicting significant disease burden on the society. In addition, donors of New Delhi, India showed a trend of decreasing seroprevalence with increasing age, possibly implying a higher exposure rate to HCV in younger subjects.


Subject(s)
Blood Donors/statistics & numerical data , Hepatitis C Antibodies/blood , Hepatitis C/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Hepatitis C/blood , Hepatitis C/etiology , Hepatitis C/immunology , Hepatitis C/prevention & control , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Mass Screening , Middle Aged , Needs Assessment , Population Surveillance , Risk Factors , Seroepidemiologic Studies , Sex Distribution , Volunteers/statistics & numerical data
2.
Indian J Med Res ; 112: 128-32, 2000 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-11200678

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The present study describes an outbreak of acute viral hepatitis in an institutional population (inmates of a prison) with an aim to delineate the etiological agents of this outbreak and to analyse the clinical, biochemical and serological evidence of different hepatitis viruses in relation to risk factors. METHODS: Fifty patients of acute viral hepatitis identified during the outbreak were evaluated on the basis of history, clinical examination, risk factor distribution, biochemical profile and serological markers for hepatitis A-E infection. Adequate epidemiological data were collected from prison administration including housing of prisoners, food and water supply. RESULTS: Of the 50 patients, 35 (70%) had serological evidence of HEV infection. Evidence of HBV infection was found in 17 patients (34%), HAV infection in 2 (4%) and HCV in 8 (16%) patients. While 16 patients (32%) had evidence of multiple viral infections, none of the viral markers could be detected in 8 patients (16%). One or more risk factor(s) could be identified in more than half of the subjects (26/50; 52%). There were 11 patients who gave history of more than one risk factor while 24 (48%) patients had none of the risk factors. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: HEV was found to be the major cause of the outbreak and contamination of drinking water supply could be the possible source of infection. This outbreak was seroepidemiologically similar to other outbreaks of hepatitis occurring in the country with HEV being the most common cause. However, there was evidence of multiple viral infections, particularly HBV and HCV in the high-risk predisposed prison population.


Subject(s)
Hepatitis, Viral, Human/virology , Prisoners , Adolescent , Adult , Disease Outbreaks , Hepatitis, Viral, Human/epidemiology , Humans , India/epidemiology , Male , Risk Factors
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