Prevalence of hepatitis C virus and its genotypes among a cohort of drug users in Kenya.
East Afr Med J
; 85(7): 318-25, 2008 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19133420
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus and that of its main genotypes varies between the worlds geographic regions. The risk factors for infection with HCV include blood transfusion, tattoing and injecting drug use.OBJECTIVES:
To examine the prevalence of HCV and determine its main genotypes among a cohort of drug users in Kenya.DESIGN:
A laboratory based study.SETTING:
Hepatitis research laboratory in the Centre for Virus Research at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Nairobi.SUBJECTS:
Three hundred and fourteen male and 19 female intravenous and non-intravenous drug users aged between 15-55 years.RESULTS:
Seventy four (22.2%) out of 333 samples tested positive for anti-HCV. Sixty nine out of the 74 serum samples were assayed for HCV RNA and 38 (55.5%) were positive. The RNA positive samples were further subjected to sequencing and 19 (73%) of the samples were classified as genotype 1a, while seven (27%) samples were classified as genotype 4. Genotypes 2, 3, 5 and 6 were not identified in this study.CONCLUSIONS:
These results demonstrate a high HCV infection prevalence among this cohort of drug users (22.2%) as compared to that of the general population, which is estimated to be 0.2-0.9%. The study also confirms the presence of at least two major genotypes among Kenyan drug users (genotypes 1 and 4).
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Hepatite C
/
Hepacivirus
/
Genótipo
/
Injeções Intravenosas
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
East Afr Med J
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Quênia